Football is an unpredictable, beautiful and sometimes brutal game. Both teams have already demonstrated that this season, even with the Premier League only in its first month of competition. We’ll look at both teams before giving our prediction for the match.

Fulham

Fulham started their campaign effectively and took many people by surprise, holding Champions League finalists Liverpool to a 2−2 draw in the season’s opening game. Many predicted The Cottagers would be swept away by the might of Liverpool, but they more than held their own.

They pleasantly surprised many neutrals and had Liverpool on the ropes early on. Despite going ahead twice, they couldn’t hold on for the win, but Fulham obtained a richly deserved point against a team that many believe is the second-best in the division. 

The bookmakers had Fulham at staggering odds of 9/1 going into this fixture, and they proved to be real value for money. There have been many surprises already this season, with bookmakers finding themselves receiving some shocking results.

Fulham remain undefeated in this year’s campaign thus far, going into the 4th game of the season. Marco Silva’s men will be looking to extend that streak when they face Spurs away from home. That’s if they manage to avoid defeat against Arsenal.

With Liverpool’s poor form since the opening day, many will argue that the game against Spurs will represent Fulham’s toughest test so far this season. However, Arsenal may disagree with that particular thought.

The newly promoted outfit will have their work cut out to get a result against Antonio Conte’s side.

They’ll be buoyed by Aleksandar Mitrovic’s last-minute winner against Brentford, and judging by their performance against Liverpool, they have no reason not to be confident when they travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

That said, they will find themselves strong outsiders when they face Spurs, as it’ll be their second difficult trip to North London in as many weeks.

Fulham could prove to be a surprise package this season, and they certainly shouldn’t be disheartened that they don’t quite have the firepower that Spurs do. They are a strong, compact and well-organised team and difficult to break down.

There’s a lot to be said for their manager, Marco Silva. The ex-Everton boss may be on a personal mission to prove his worth in the league after being sacked by the Merseyside club.

Silva is a young manager as far as Premier League standards go. Given time, he could prove to be a highly competent manager at this level, especially if the first 3 games are anything to go by.

Tottenham Hotspur

Many analysts are forecasting that Spurs could be the real deal this season. Perhaps even breaking into the top 2 or 3 with the strength of their additions in the summer.

They have brought in firepower such as Richarlison from Everton and Bissouma from Brighton. Two high-quality additions to a team already considered one of the best attacking teams in the division.

Of course, the formidable Harry Kane marches towards his seemingly inevitable quest to break Alan Shearer’s all-time goal-scoring record. He is squeezing past Sergio Aguero’s record following his goal against Wolves last week.

His partner in crime, Son Heung-Min, is widely considered one of the best-supporting strikers in the world. After winning the golden boot last season, he will be hungry for more and keen to continue his mission for silverware with Spurs.

The two combined are considered the deadliest attacking pair in the league and are widely regarded as one of the greatest offensive duos the league has ever seen. Last year, they broke the record for most combined goal contributions in Premier League history. 

They are now at the top of a very esteemed and impressive list, as you can see below:

• Kane/Son⎯37 
• Drogba/Lampard⎯36
• Aguero/David Silva⎯36
• Henry/Pires⎯29
• Anderton/Sheringham⎯27

Antonio Conte is certainly not a manager who lacks passion or skill. His fiery exchange with Thomas Tuchel after the Chelsea game resulted in both managers being reprimanded by the FA (Football Association).

Many feel that getting Conte in as manager and keeping hold of Kane were the two best signings that Spurs could have made. They now have a serial winner manager who will leave no stone unturned in his goal to lift a trophy with Spurs.

Whether that will be this season is anybody’s guess. They are starting to look like a team with both the quality and depth to start challenging the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.

Starting quickly out of the traps on opening day by destroying Southampton, Conte’s players look like they mean business this year.

This attitude is strengthened further by the result against Wolves. Their talisman, Harry Kane, pulled the result out of the bag in a game that looked destined for 0−0.

Many Spurs fans would concede that, in seasons gone by, this is exactly the type of game where they would have dropped points.

With Liverpool failing to pick up a win in any of their first 3 games, Spurs have started strong and will be confident after picking up a late point at Stamford Bridge. With Conte at the helm, they’ll feel like a squad looking ahead, instead of behind them.

It is difficult to say how much Conte could change the fortunes of Spurs. A manager who is used to winning league titles, cups, and grudge matches is no stranger to grinding out results.

Many other teams in the league could take note of this strategy. Instead of allowing inexperienced managers to waste a fortune on mediocre players, they should wait for the right manager to appear, one with the calibre to identify and attract the best squad.

Although, this hasn’t always been the case for Spurs, and they have been through their fair share of managers in their attempt to break into the automatic champions league qualification spots. It appears they may now, finally, have hit the winning formula.

Spurs vs Fulham⎯How will it go?

Now it’s time for us to take off our football analysis caps and delve into how we see the match panning out.

When teams are newly promoted, especially teams like Fulham, who finished top of the Championship, they find themselves riding the crest of a wave. 

As we have discussed, the Liverpool result and the last-minute winner against Brentford will do nothing but help boost their confidence. They will go into the Spurs game looking compact and trying to catch Spurs out on the counter, much as they did with Liverpool.

However, Spurs are looking like a strong collective this season and it’s difficult to see past any other result than a home win. Football is a funny old game, and it does throw shocks and surprises at us, none more so than a few of the results we have already seen this season.

With the incredible attacking threat that Spurs possess, arguably the most potent in the league, they will likely put a few past a newly promoted and gallant Fulham side.