Fulham v Tottenham predictions: Cottagers may spring another surprise

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Fulham v Tottenham in the Premier League on Monday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Premier League, 8pm Monday

Best bet

Fulham draw no bet
1pt 7-5 Betfair, Paddy Power

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Team news

Fulham
Antonee Robinson is available after suspension and Shane Duffy is fit after an illness. Neeskens Kebano (Achilles) is a long-term absentee.

Tottenham
Antonio Conte has no new injury problems but is expected to rotate his squad, citing fatigue as his main concern. Bryan Gil should be available but Lucas Moura is still sidelined by a calf issue.

Match preview

Marco Silva has insisted Premier League survival remains Fulham’s primary objective for the season and yet if they beat Tottenham on Monday night, which they are more than capable of, Europe may be calling for Silva’s courageous Cottagers.

Having gone down with a whimper on their last Premier League foray, Fulham don’t look out of place in the top half of the table at the midway point of the season and are just two points adrift of a Spurs side assembled with the intention of qualifying for the Champions League.

The gap could have been even smaller had Fulham and the unlucky Aleksandar Mitrovic not slipped up last time out at Newcastle. The Serb’s stumble and illegal double-tap penalty proved costly as Fulham’s run of five straight wins in all competitions was brought to an end with a 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park.

The loss was a frustrating one for Silva, who felt the officials cost his team a positive result, but it hasn’t taken any of the gloss off what has otherwise been an excellent season with Fulham having already surpassed their points and goals tallies from their last top-flight campaign.

In contrast, the sheen has been scrubbed off Spurs’ campaign with their top-four ambitions on shaky ground after last Thursday’s collapse at Manchester City made it three defeats in their last four matches.

Losing at City is far from a disaster but it was the manner of the 4-2 reverse - Spurs were 2-0 ahead at the break - that was particularly troubling. Their loss at the Etihad followed hot on the heels of an underwhelming display in the north London derby last weekend.

Antonio Conte’s odds to be the next Premier League manager to go were slashed in the wake of their Etihad embarrassment when Spurs lost the defensive solidity that has been a hallmark of the Italian’s teams in the past.

Tottenham have conceded 21 goals in their last ten league games, partly due to some erratic displays from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, while their expected-goals-against figure of 1.72 is the sixth-highest in the league.

Spurs are wobbling and if Conte is forced to rest his injury-prone creator-in-chief Dejan Kulusevski, which he's hinted at, then Tottenham’s prospects of getting back on track at Craven Cottage look bleak.

Fulham have lost only twice at home all season, most recently getting the better of Chelsea on their own patch, and in Mitrovic and Andreas Pereira the potential for them to expose Tottenham is laid bare for all to see.

Throw in to the mix that Fulham have failed to score in only one of ten home league outings this term and the case for taking on Spurs at short odds given their current malaise only becomes stronger.

Key stat

Tottenham have conceded at least two goals in nine of their last ten league fixtures.

Inside info

Fulham

Penalty taker Aleksandar Mitrovic
Assist ace Andreas Pereira
Set-piece aerial threat Aleksandar Mitrovic
Card magnet Joao Palhinha

Tottenham

Penalty taker Harry Kane
Assist ace Dejan Kulusevski
Set-piece aerial threat Harry Kane
Card magnet Cristian Romero

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