In England, the Round of 16 matches will take place this weekend. In this article, we look at the encounter between FC Fulham and the Tottenham Hotspurs. The London city derby will be featured in Craven Cottage early Sunday afternoon. The Cottagers are a traditional club that currently plays in the second-ranked Football League Championship and has yet to win a major national or international title. Also this year the conditions are anything but good, because with the Spurs comes one of the top teams from the Premier League. The question is, therefore, whether the underdog can beat the last of the favorites.
Fulham
FC Fulham have only entered the FA Cup in the 1/32-finals and beat the second-placed Cardiff City 2-1. In the ensuing 1/16 final, The Cottagers had a top-notch team with Hull City. In a balanced match, Fulham went for a quick goal with a tight lead into the half-time break. Shortly after the restart the team of coach Slavisa Jokanovic took the equalizer, but it was quick to recover. Already five minutes later the old advantage was restored and with a further two goals on a sovereign 4: 1 up-screwed.
The shape of the Cottagers seems to be right, because four of the last five competitive games were won. Only the match at Birmingham City went almost 0: 1 lost. The last week’s dress-up against Nottingham Forest earned The Whites a deserved win, even though the 3-2 victory was ultimately won by only one of the guests. While Fulham’s 52-goal offensive is among the better in the second English league, the defensive is only average with 37 contenders. The challenge of competing against Tottenham is huge. As coach Slavisa Jokanovic is almost reassured that he can – apart from the injured Tomas Kalas – to his entire team.
Tottenham
The Tottenham Hotspurs have not yet entered the FA Cup until the end of the 1/32-finals and welcomed Aston Villa at White Hart Lane. After a manageable first half, the Lilywhites were overbeat in the second half and could be won 2: 0 by Ben Davies and Heung-Min Son. In the 1/16 finals the team of coach Mauricio Pochettino then welcomed the fourth-class team Wycombe Wanderer and had surprisingly big problems. At half-time, The Spurs lost 0: 2 despite 80 percent of their ball possession. After the half-time, Tottenham sent him to bend everything straight back and equaled 15 minutes behind. In the 83rd minute, however, the blame was almost perfect, as the guests once again took the lead. However, Jungle Dele Alli (89th Minute) and Heung-Min Son (90th + 7 ‘) double-backed the front in the last minute.
The shape of the spurs seems to have escaped a bit. Before the last weekend, the Pochettino elite were unbeaten in eleven games in a row (9 wins, 2 draws), which was partly due to the good offensive (46 hits in the PL) and a strong defense (only 18 opponents in PL) Was. On the last weekend, however, there was a strong dampening. In Liverpool, it was a good 2-2 defeat. This defeat should be forgotten during the week in the Europa League, which failed thoroughly. At the KAA Gent, the Lilywhites lost the second defeat in five days. In a balanced match, Tottenham did not score a goal again (final score 0: 1) so that the return is now won with at least two goals difference. In the upcoming FA Cup game coach Mauricio Pochettino will certainly be on compensation. Nevertheless, he will also rotate a bit and give a break to the one or the other. He has to do without the injured Danny Rose, Jan Vertonghen and Erik Lamela one way or another.
Fulham – Tottenham, Tipp & Conclusion – 19.02.2017
On paper and betting, this game should be a clear matter for the Tottenham Hotspurs. Therefore bets on the second-class outsider from Fulham are rewarded with odds up to 4.75. That it is not necessarily a clear matter must have been seen last in the 1/16 final, when Tottenham barely escaped a shame and only on the last pusher the hurdle against the fourth league.
Prediction: Tottenham win
Odds: 1.95
