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Fulham vs Spurs Tactical Preview

4 min read
by The Fighting Cock
Jai B dives into recent match stats from Spurs and Fulham and explains how we can get back to winning ways at Craven Cottage.

Tottenham and Fulham have shared a lot in recent years, including the likes of Scott Parker and Mousa Dembele, however neither will be keen to share any points in this fixture. Fulham have lost the last 5 consecutive league games and as a result have sacked former Spurs manager Martin Jol, replacing him with Rene Meulensteen. Both managers have something to prove; AVB will be eager to keep close to the competition in the league, consecutive fixtures against Fulham and Sunderland can help him achieve this. Meulensteen will be hoping to spring Fulham out of the relegation zone and into a more respectable position. Nothing quite like a London derby to get things started, eh?

Fulham’s last league fixture was another London derby, against West Ham, and they did not fair too well offensively. 9 of their 10 shots were outside the area with all 10 being off target. Perhaps a sign that with Bryan Ruiz and Dimitar Berbatov, clear chances are even harder to come by. If neither of these two start against Tottenham, expect a very easy day for Michael Dawson and co.

Fulham vs Spurs 1

On the other side, West Ham really exploited the Fulham full backs. West Ham sent in 38 crosses, excluding corners, and Stewart Downing looked particularly impressive. The former Liverpool player attempted 14 crosses in 90 minutes; fellow winger Matt Jarvis attempted 8 as well. With AVB recently, against Manchester clubs, fielding Aaron Lennon on the right as opposed to the left we could see Lennon continue his more traditional winger role and put pressure on Kieran Richardson, the Fulham left back. We can see from the chances created from passes, many occurred on West Ham’s right flank, and the channel between Richardson and the left centre-back.

Fulham vs Spurs 2

Fulham have had Elsad Zverotic fill in as right full back during Sascha Riether’s suspension. Zverotic was the target of West Ham as well, as you can see below, Downing successfully switched the play to target Fulham’s right side on 3 occasions; in contrast no attempts to switch the play from West Ham’s left to right were attempted. West Ham left full back George McCartney attempted 6 crosses in the game, highlighting the quantity of opportunities when attacking Fulham’s right back. The switch of play from right to left would sometimes suit the Tottenham style as well. With Jan Vertonghen expected to start at left back, with one of Nacer Chadli or Gylfi Sigurdsson in front of him, there will be guaranteed height for our left hand side; which can be used to successfully bring down and control switch passes.

Fulham vs Spurs 3

More opportunities came from attacking and pressing Zverotic, in turn leading to two goals. For the first goal, West Ham were able to put significant pressure on Zverotic and former Spur Scott Parker on the right hand side. From a successful challenge the Hammers were able open the scoring and they attempted to win the ball back, via tackles, many times on Fulham’s right side. Through the dribbling brilliance of Ravel Morrison, something we unfortunately witnessed, they were again able to find the net; at the expense of Fulham’s right side.

Fulham vs Spurs 4

Below is a full graphic of all the crosses that West Ham attempted in the match, excluding corners. Many were met with by a West Ham player when the balls were delivered from the right.

Fulham vs Spurs 5

For Fulham vs Tottenham it may be unlikely that Zverotic will start; given Riether’s return from suspension. However, Manchester Utd gave Riether an equally hard time when he last stepped foot on the pitch. I highlighted above how the West Ham full back was able to find joy further up the field through crosses, and the same applies with United full back Patrice Evra; more via possession as Manchester United, excluding the direct Antonio Valencia don’t often cross the ball.

Fulham vs Spurs 6

It is evident from his heat map and the locations in which Evra plays his passes fairly high up the field. This sustained pressure allowed Adan Januzaj to create a goal for Robin Van Persie, whilst also attempted 2 shots himself. This also occurs from Fulham attempting more attacking plays from their right as opposed to their left. Around 25% of their created chances have come from their right hand side; more than double what they create from their left. It is the case that the right full back is often caught out of position and this is capitalised on by other teams; very true considering Riether’s speed and willingness to attack.

In conclusion, I believe that if Spurs target the Fulham full backs then opportunities to score will arise. If Sigurdsson starts, I would also suggest placing a cheeky bet on the Icelander to score first. With Fulham’s lack of creativity, coupled with the fact that Tottenham have only conceded 2 goals in the previous 3 games at Craven Cottage, we could also expect another clean sheet for Hugo Lloris’ back line. Hopefully this fixture doesn’t turn out to be more complicated than it should, we would all like to see a win.

[author name=”Jai B” avatar=”https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/1659352356/IMAG0018.jpg” twitter=”Jai_B[/linequote]

All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.

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  1. Get out of jail card.....
    05/12/2013 @ 7:45 am

    The “project manager” would have walked last night but for two long range strikes. Fulham had lost five on the spin, Berba says he wants to go and what does our clown do……he goes defensive! Stupid them selection (did we really need Sandro AND Capoue) and stupid defensive tactics. Outplayed for 70 mintues, it took a Fulham goal to make us realise that we are allowed to attack. ok, so a couple of cracking goals get All Very Boring off the hook but he is being found out every week now. Get rid.

  2. Dave in Toronto
    06/12/2013 @ 1:26 am

    Found your website via Guardian article about 1882. Spurs fans even exist in Defoe’s future hometown. I’d say the game was more complicated because the Fulham crew played to impress the new boss. Sunnderland will be another tough match with players looking to impress the slightly new boss to make sure they are still around in January.

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