News

When The Spurs Go Marching In

The Premier League is back in full force, with several high-profile matches going down last weekend. Several of the big teams got off to a winning start, and now, they’ll be aiming to build some momentum in what is arguably one of the toughest leagues in world football. Of course, some teams are more fortunate than others when it comes to the luck of the draw, and Tottenham Hotspur were certainly fortunate to escape their opening day fixture against Newcastle United with three points intact.

It’s not like Spurs didn’t play well, because they did, but if the Magpies were at the races then they probably would’ve been able to punish Mauricio Pochettino’s men a little more. Fulham, on the other hand, experienced what it’s like to be on the other end of the spectrum with a defeat that they probably shouldn’t have suffered – or at the very least, they shouldn’t have suffered it based on their first half display. They were putting Crystal Palace to the sword at points throughout the game, but that experience factor was able to shine through for the Eagles as Fulham received a reality check that they probably weren’t preparing for.

You see, the Cottagers are in a very similar position to their fellow promoted side Wolverhampton Wanderers, in that they came up through the promotion system with a bunch of momentum – and a lot of attention from the media. In fact, Fulham actually wound up spending more money than Wolves in the summer transfer window, which is something that very few people would’ve expected to happen given how free-spending Wolves have been since Fosun took charge.

Tottenham Hotspur, though, took it upon themselves to not spend anything in the transfer window – becoming the first team to do so in the summer window throughout the history of the Premier League. Whilst they certainly had their targets, with Jack Grealish being the main one, it always seemed as if they weren’t going to be able to get the job done. That doesn’t necessarily bode well for them moving forward but at the same time, you could argue that building a team from the youth system is an old school tactic that could prove to be a masterstroke.

In our opinion, that’s a good idea, but you need to be able to find the right balance. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with trusting in the players you’ve got, especially when they all seem happy enough to be there, but you need to then see the results on the pitch. It’s not always the team’s fault if that doesn’t come to fruition but at the same time, they need to be held accountable if mistakes are made – and as we look ahead to their second game of the season, Harry Kane is someone who will have the eyes of the football world on him.

He’s well known for being one of the best natural goalscorers in English football over the course of the last few decades, but at the same time, he never seems to be able to find the back of the net in August. It’s almost as if there’s a mental block that he can’t get past, and the Cottagers will attempt to exploit that with efficient man marking from the first whistle until the very last.

Then, with the visitors, you’ve got Ryan Sessegnon and Andre Schurrle who have been pinpointed as the two main factors behind a potential Fulham upset. They need to dictate the pace of the game and remind Spurs that despite the fact they’re the promoted side, that shouldn’t matter one bit when it comes to what happens on the pitch. They struggled at times against Palace, but you could argue that they’re just starting to slowly settle into the game.

Another storyline heading into this comes in the form of Tottenham’s stadium situation. Unfortunately, it appears as if they misjudged how long the development of the ground would take, meaning that they’ll have to play another series of home games at Wembley Stadium. Whilst that may not seem like that big of a deal, it reflects pretty badly on the club – especially when you consider how much they’ve put into the project.

They probably weren’t preparing to play in that stadium for as long as they’re going to, and sometimes, problems off the pitch can impact the players on it. A lot of that comes down to the mental strength of the individuals involved, and while Spurs have come a long way with that, Fulham needs to realise that there’s a huge opportunity in front of them. This is probably one of the best times to face Spurs given the uncertainty throughout the squad, as well as the aforementioned issues with Kane finding the back of the net. Weirdly enough, it actually feels like there’s more of a chance that they’ll drop points in this game than last week, which sounds bizarre considering the opposition at play and the fact they’re at home this week – but then again, this isn’t really a traditional home game for them.

In terms of the team news, Tottenham will have to live without Son Heung-min as he’s currently away at the Asian Games. Still, while that may be a bit of a bummer, a South Korea triumph in that tournament could ensure that Son doesn’t have to conduct his mandatory military duty and will instead be allowed to continue playing for Spurs over the next few years and beyond. Lamela and Winks could feature on some level, however, Wanyama is still out through a knee injury. Tim Ream and Alfie Mawson are out injured for the visitors, but Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa could make his highly anticipated debut.

Tottenham vs Fulham Betting Prediction

The first 10 minutes or so are really going to decide where this game goes, and that isn’t often the case when you’re playing at this kind of level. Tottenham are the favourites and rightly so, but there’s a reason why Fulham have so much hype behind them. They play good and efficient football and they need to showcase that here, and they can’t afford to be afraid of the ‘occasion’ associated with playing against a team like Spurs. There’s just no place for it.

With that being said, we do believe that Tottenham will be able to move the ball around nicely, find the early goal and build from there. In the end, we believe they’ll run out to a 3-1 scoreline and maintain that for the victory, but Spurs fans should realise that a result of that nature should be viewed as the bare minimum given their situation.