- Oct 17, 2006
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REFEREE: --- -- Peter Bankes ???????
TEAM FORM: - Spurs DLLWD ----- Fulham LDDDD ------ (All Competitions)
We round off 2020 with a home Premier League match against London rivals Fulham on Wednesday evening. We have enjoyed a largely positive 12 months under Jose but we are without a win in four league matches and have slipped down the table. Fulham are in need of points for a different reason as they enter this match inside the relegation zone, despite some improved performances.
We found ourselves top of the Premier League following our 2-0 win over bitter rivals Arsenal on December 6, but we have since slipped out of the top four entirely. Away draws with Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers have sandwiched defeats to fellow title contenders Liverpool and Leicester City over the past few weeks.
Jose could not hide his frustration after dropping two late points at Wolves, with us seemingly sitting back on a first-minute lead given to us by Ndombele. Romain Saiss’s 86th-minute header had a sense of inevitability about it, though Mourinho insisted after the game it was never his intention to hold out for a one-goal victory. In less than a month, the question of whether the 'old Mourinho' is back has taken on a different meaning, with the Portuguese now appearing irritated and questioning our players.
The only way to stop the rot is by picking up victory at home to Fulham on Wednesday in this ninth and final match of a packed December. We lost 2-0 to Leicester last time out on home soil, though not since January 2019 have we lost successive home league games. Mourinho, meanwhile, has never lost back-to-back home league matches. A Fulham victory really would be a shock, then, particularly given that the Cottagers have failed to win any of their last five top-flight games.
However, Scott Parkers’ men have at least made themselves tough to beat, drawing each of their last four, including a 1-1 draw with champions Liverpool. Saturday's goalless draw with Southampton was hardly the worst result in the world, either, though it does mean that Fulham enter this game in the relegation zone. The west London outfit have lost 10 of their last 11 Premier League meetings with us, the only victory in that run coming at White Hart Lane in March 2013.
Bale sustained another injury in last week's EFL Cup quarter-final win over Stoke City and subsequently missed the draw with Wolves at the weekend. Our only confirmed injury or suspension absentee is Lo Celso, who will play no part in the remainder of the festive and New Year fixtures. Given the disappointing nature of the Wolves result and the quick turnaround in matches, Mourinho is expected to make changes to his starting lineup. That could potentially mean a change in formation and rare Premier League starts for the likes of Ali and Rodon.
As for Fulham, they are without Kenny Tete and Terence Kongolo, though Mario Lemina is back after being ineligible to face parent club Southampton. Lemina's return could mean Harrison Reed dropping out, while Mitrovic is another of those pushing for a recall to the side.
Banner courtesy @chrissivad
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