Fulham find themselves playing in another London derby this weekend as they make a relatively quick return to Wembley. It was only as recent as May that they won the Championship Play-Off Final against Aston Villa.
That win saw them reach the promised land of the Premier League for the first time since their relegation back in 2014. However, they did not get off to the fairy tale start they had hoped for last weekend after a home defeat to Crystal Palace.
The West London club have spent big over the course of the Summer and this has raised expectations, however with so many new faces it may take some time for the team to form a cohesive unit.
They go up against a Tottenham side that have not had the best of the weeks, after failing to buy anyone in the Summer transfer window they were then dealt the devastating blow after being told that their new stadium will not be ready for its planned October opening.
They have at least had a positive result on the pitch though to soften the blow, one that came away at Newcastle. Mauricio Pochettino’s men came away eventual 2-1 winners at St James’ Park but they were certainly made to work for their victory.
Jan Vertonghen may not have been a fan of goal line technology going into the game, but he certainly would have been at the end of it. His headed opener was adjudged to have crossed the line by a margin of 9mm.
Had there not been any technology in place, then quite simply that would have not been a goal as the referee would have been able to make the correct call. If technology assisted Tottenham to start with then it is fair to say they rode their luck soon after.
It was perhaps not the best performance from a side that welcomed back a whole host of players from World Cup duty, so perhaps the main objective was just making sure that they bought maximum points back to the capital.
Harry Kane’s barren August run continues and that is something he will look to put right this weekend, however on the evidence of his performance against Newcastle there are question marks over his fitness still.
It looks like he is not quite got the sharpness that has been evident in the past and this is something that his manager will have to keep a keen eye on. Tottenham must be really careful not to overwork him, for the simple fact that they have a paucity of attacking options to replace him.
However, at the same time it only needs a goal to spark things into life for Kane and he will be licking his lips at the prospect of going up against a club that has come up from England’s second tier last season.
With that in mind, this will be the perfect fixture for Kane to break his August hoodoo and also to placate the Tottenham fans after the stadium frustrations of the past week. This should be a relatively comfortable home win.