Fulham vs Spurs Preview, Team News, Likely Line-Ups, Key Man & Predicted Score

Rene Meulensteen will get his tenure as Fulham boss underway as he welcomes Tottenham Horspur to Craven Cottage tonight.

Martin Jol was dismissed following a 3-0 loss to West Ham on Saturday – the clubs fifth straight defeat – and Meulensteen was immediately promoted having only been at the club three weeks.

The defeat at Upton Park left the Cottagers in the bottom three of the Premier League table, three points from safety, so a positive result is vital tonight to get their season back on track.

Tottenham on the other hand bounced back from their 6-0 thrashing to Manchester City with a well-earned point against Champions United at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

However, a run of four games without a win has seen the north Londoners drop to ninth in the table, a full ten points off leaders Arsenal, so Andre Villas-Boas will be desperate to get back to winning ways this evening to keep his sides flagging title push alive.

Team News

Rene Meulensteen must decide how best to line-up for his first game in charge. The new Fulham boss welcomes back Sascha Riether after the defender completed a three-match ban, and he’s expected to come straight back in.

Dimitar Berbatov is likely to return having recovered from illness while captain Brede Hangeland is also expected to start having missed the last four games with a sciatic nerve problem.

Moussa Dembele faces a late fitness test on a hamstring injury but Hugo Rodallega and Matthew Briggs remain out.

Spurs will be without Emmanuel Adebayor after he aggravated a groin problem in training and he joins Christian Eriksen, Danny Rose and Harry Kane on the sidelines.

Villas-Boas has hinted he could revert to two up top this evening meaning Jermain Defoe could get a rare start, although Roberto Soldado is likely to continue in attack on his own.

Likely Line-Ups

Key Man

Roberto Soldado: The Spaniard has struggling to adapt to life in the Premier League so far but he is slowly getting used to the pace of the game and we can see him playing a key role tonight.

Predicted Score

Fulham 1-2 Spurs: A close game but we think Tottenham will just edge it.

What would be your starting eleven and what’s your predicted score? Share your comments below.