Spurs - Fa Cup 5th Round away to Fulham

By MattoftheSpurs
February 15 2007

Tottenham Hotspur travel to Craven Cottage this Sunday for an all London 5th round FA Cup tie.

It was only one month ago that Spurs visited the Cottagers and escaped with a draw after a late goal by Pascal Chimbonda for the North Londoners two minutes from time. Fulham had taken the lead after 84 minutes due to a hotly disputed penalty conceded by Michael Dawson. Fulham had been reduced to ten men in that match after 53 minutes when Helguson was sent off for his second bookable offence.

Fulham had also taken a point from Tottenham in the first encounter of the season in mid September. On that occasion neither team could break the deadlock despite Tottenham having a number of clear opportunities.

The form guide going into this game heavily suggests a Fulham win if only because of Tottenham's poor away form this term. Fulham have only won 3 of their last ten matches, 2 of which have been against lower league teams in the form of Leicester City and Stoke City, both in the FA Cup. Their last home match saw an impressive 2-1 victory over a resurgent Newcastle United whilst Tottenham's last ten results are similiar in that they to have only recorded 2 wins and both of those have come against lower league opposition in the FA Cup against Cardiff City and Southend United.

Craven Cottage has not been a happy hunting ground for Spurs. On 29 visits Tottenham have recorded just 11 wins. The last of these came in the 2001/02 season where Spurs won 2-0 in the league and again 2-1 in the League Cup.

Fulham and Tottenham have met just the once in the FA Cup at Craven Cottage with the match ending in a 0-0 draw in the 1983/84 season. Fulham, who were in Division 2 at the time, were duly dispatched 2-0 4 days later in the replay.

Tottenham have Ledley King out for the match whilst Anthony Gardner remains a doubt. Aaron Lennon and Tom Huddlestone should both be available for selection once more after missing the match against Sheffield United through illness. Fulham will be without the services of Wayne Routledge who is on loan from the White Hart Lane side and is therefore illegible to play. Michael Brown may also miss the match against his previous employers due to picking up a fifth yellow card against Bolton at the weekend.

Fulham go into the game as slight favourites more due to Spur's appalling away record this season than anything else. Martin Jol will be hoping that some of his stars will be able to turn on the style away from home for a change but I feel that there will not be many goals in this one so the first one could be vital. Confidence is brittle for the North Londoners at the moment. Let's hope that the 4,000 travelling support will have something to cheer about this Sunday evening for a change.

The match is being broadcast live on Sky Sports.

Kick off 4.00pm.