Date: 20/01/2019
K/O: 16:00
Venue: Craven Cottage
Referee: Craig Pawson
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
Sunday afternoon’s game at Craven Cottage will showcase two sides who, although on completely different sides of the table, both find themselves in precarious and season-changing states of trouble.
Fulham’s problems are distinctly obvious; they can’t defend particularly well and they can’t score many goals either. January was billed as a month of crucial six-pointer matches for Claudio Ranieri’s men, with big games against Burnley, Brighton and Crystal Palace lined up either side of this slightly tougher proposition of Spurs. One of those six-pointers is already completed, a 2-1 loss to Sean Dyche’s Burnley at Turf Moor, a 2-1 loss which highlighted Fulham’s failings clearly in one remarkable stat – in that game, Burnley didn’t have one attempt on target.
Two own-goals consigned Fulham to defeat in the kind of game that they simply could not afford to lose, with the table beginning to look ominous for the Cottagers. Ranieri has won important matches for Fulham since his arrival, most obviously the win over Southampton and the recent, last-gasp winner over Huddersfield too. Yet the gap between them and 17th place Cardiff now stands at five points; should it widen to eight points after this weekend then many will see relegation as a surety rather than a possibility.
A lot was expected of the Cottagers with the transfer-window open too, but so far it has been underwhelming to say the least – the surprise signing of 32-year-old former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel from Besiktas, has done little to increase the hopes of survival. It is clear that Fulham have the money and have not been shy to spend it in the past, but perhaps their lowly position in the table is struggling to convince potential players that this is the place for them to go. There was a suggestion before the Burnley match that Fulham were going for a triple Chelsea transfer swoop of Gary Cahill, Victor Moses and Danny Drinkwater but since that 2-1 defeat, it has all gone worryingly quiet.
Mauricio Pochettino and Spurs do not have the same kind of relegation worries that their weekend opponents do, but their season is in danger of unravelling in remarkably quick fashion. It was only a few weeks ago that Spurs were being discussed as serious title challengers, on a par with both Liverpool and Manchester City yet home losses to both Wolves and Manchester United have dismissed such comparisons as overly ambitious.
One positive of the December and January period, where Spurs went from top-four hopefuls to title challenges and back again, is the emergence and confirmation of the remarkable talent of South Korean international Son Heung-min. His pace, finishing ability and explosive style of play makes him a totally unique asset for this Tottenham team; an asset who has now left to represent his country in the Asian Cup, potentially until February.
To make matters worse, Tottenham striker and talisman Harry Kane was injured in some of the final moments of the Manchester United match – an injury that will see him resume full training in March. This feels like a devastating blow for Tottenham and coupled with Son’s absence it leaves a real headache behind. Fernando Llorente is the only true striker available to Pochettino now and despite scoring a hat trick in the FA Cup only a few weeks ago, he is not deemed an adequate replacement for the regular impact of Kane.
The veteran striker had an excellent season two years ago in the Premier League with Swansea but his lack of playing time has not helped his confidence nor his sharpness in front of goal, highlighted by a poor miss when substituted on against Manchester United. Will Pochettino give him the minutes to prove he still has it? A tweak in formation and players shifted out of position would be the only alternative to playing Llorente throughout Kane’s absence.
Team News
Alfie Mawson should still be unavailable for Fulham following a knee injury suffered in late December; the former Swansea man has struggled to impress since moving in the summer but was still becoming one of Ranieri’s first choice defenders, and may be missed more than people realise.
Up front, it may be a debut for Ryan Babel and with rumours of serious friction between Ranieri and Aboubakar Kamara, not only for the infamous penalty miss a few weeks ago, but also reports of a fight in training, means that Ranieri’s favoured 4-4-2 may see Mitrovic and Babel deployed as a front two. Whether this is the firepower Fulham need to stay up remains to be seen, but unfortunately, there is little doubt that this will be the only new acquisition available for Sunday’s game.
The selection problems at Spurs are well documented – as already mentioned. Two of the most important players at the club, Son and Kane, have both become unavailable for international duty and injury respectively. Pochettino is working with a noticeably weaker squad than most of the team’s in the top six, mainly because he has not had the funds to purchase depth thanks to the costs of the new stadium (a new stadium that may now not see Champions League football this season). Two recent ‘home’ defeats have been blamed by fans as an issue of fatigue, with the side getting minimalist rotation over the notoriously heavy Christmas period. With two important players now unavailable, the freedom to rotate looks even weaker than before.
Predicted Starting XIs
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Rico; Christie, Odoi, Ream, Bryan; Chambers, Seri; Sessegnon, Christie, Vietto; Mitrovic
Tottenham (4-1-2-1-2): Lloris; Trippier, Vertonghen, Sanchez, Davies; Dier; Sissoko, Alli; Eriksen; Llorente, Moura
Score Prediction: Fulham 1 Tottenham 3
It is still far too optimistic to even have hope for Fulham at this point in time; although they play a considerably weaker Tottenham side than seen recently in the league, Spurs still have power and pace running throughout their side, with a technical level of skill and confidence that should outmatch the Cottagers. Home matches, against anybody, are now must-win games for Claudio Ranieri’s team, but with a team like this coming to Craven Cottage, it may well be an eight-point gap at the end of this weekend.
