Tottenham Hotspur head into Saturday's Premier League clash at Wembley Stadium looking to make it maximum points from two fixtures, having already defeated Newcastle United at St James' Park.
Fulham have made some excellent additions during the summer transfer window, but the Cottagers make the short trip across the capital looking to avoid a second successive defeat since gaining promotion back to the top flight.
Tottenham Hotspur
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Supporters of Tottenham Hotspur were naturally disappointed when the summer transfer window slammed shut without a single first-team addition, while some will still be left questioning Mauricio Pochettino's decision after a scrappy victory over Newcastle.
However, the more optimistic section of the Spurs faithful would have been impressed with the way that the team were able to fight their way to three important points as they look to put together a bid to challenge for the Premier League title.
There are understandably fears that the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool - and maybe Manchester United - are all better equipped to get their hands on the top-flight crown, but that is not to say that Spurs' unusual approach can not pay off in the long run.
Teams and squads sometimes struggle with a lack of togetherness and cohesion, but Spurs already possess that and it is up to Pochettino to discover whether his players possess that extra 5% which could prove to be the difference between fourth place and first.
The Argentine and the club's hierarchy have undoubtedly taken a risk, but the lack of fresh faces is a show of faith to the bit-part players at the club who have perhaps felt second fiddle during their time at the North London outfit and that could potentially lead to more consistent performances.
Only time will tell if that proves to be the case, but if Spurs can come through their opening set of fixtures with nine or 10 points on the board - at a time when some of their stars are lacking sharpness and others are not involved at all - there will be reason to place trust in the decisions made by the power people at the club.
The uncertainty surrounding the club's new stadium will not help ease the frustration in the stands, but a return to Wembley on Saturday is at least a chance for Spurs to play at a stadium where they only suffered defeats to Chelsea, Juventus, Manchester City and Manchester United last season.
More often than not, they were clinical against sides outside of the top six and if they can put together a ruthless display against city neighbours Fulham, the storm clouds hanging over the club may start to dissipate.
Recent form: W
Fulham
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Fulham have spent 2018 riding a crest of wave after putting together a long unbeaten run on the way to securing promotion to English football's top tier, and the expectation levels at Craven Cottage have only risen with the additon of 12 new players.
That remained the case as Fulham went into an early London derby against a club in Crystal Palace who had not necessarily strengthened in the way that their supporters may have expected, but the game proved that frequent overhaul is perhaps not always the way to go.
Slavisa Jokanovic would have been content with the amount of possession that his team had, but the lack of clear-cut chances and the pace of some of their forward play would have concerned the Serbian and it has already highlighted that Fulham cannot get ahead of themselves this season.
There is little doubting that the West Londoners have made quality and smart additions in equal measure, but the team still need to go through a bedding-in period and their best is unlikely to show itself over the coming weeks.
The early aim for Jokanovic and his squad is to avoid three or four defeats, especially in the fixtures which follow this weekend's game at Wembley with Burnley and Brighton & Hove Albion acting as the opposition.
That double-header places extra emphasis on the showdown with Spurs, because Jokanovic will want to see that his team have started to learn from the mistakes made against Palace and can head into the home fixture with Burnley playing with confidence.
A lot of attention will be placed on Ryan Sessegnon this weekend with the youngster having being heavily linked with a switch to Spurs, but Fulham will require a big performance from summer acquisition Jean Michael Seri.
The Cottagers pulled off one of the coups of the off-season in signing the Ivory Coast international, but it will be games like this where we will see whether Seri is capable of fulfilling his potential in the Premier League.
Recent form: L
Team News
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Spurs will be without Son Heung-min for their remaining fixtures before the international break due to the forward having linked up with South Korea for the Asian Games.
Harry Winks, Joshua Onomah and Erik Lamela have all made a return to training, while Kieran Trippier is moving closer to being in contention for a starting role.
However, Pochettino could opt to name the same starting lineup for the second successive game, providing that Eric Dier and Lucas Moura shake off knocks.
There are unlikely to be too many changes to the Fulham XI despite their disappointing defeat to Palace last weekend.
Denis Odoi is suspended, while Alfie Mawson and Tim Ream are still working their way towards match fitness, although Timothy Fosu-Mensah is an option to come into the backline if Joe Bryan does not recover from an injury sustained against Palace.
Atletico Madrid loanee Luciano Vietto is likely to have to wait for his first start in a Fulham shirt.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Aurier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Sissoko; Eriksen, Alli, Moura; Kane
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Fabri; Christie, Chambers, Le Marchand, Bryan; McDonald, Cairney, Seri; Schurrle, Mitrovic, Sessegnon
Head To Head
Saturday's clash will represent the 97th competitive meeting between the two sides, with Spurs registering 49 wins in comparison to 18 for Fulham.
Spurs have won six of the last seven matches between the clubs, although there has not been a league encounter between the teams since April 2014.
The most recent clash came in 2017 when a hat-trick from Harry Kane gave Spurs a 3-0 win in an FA Cup tie at Craven Cottage.
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Fulham
The majority of Spurs' first-team squad are without a prolonged summer break, but we do not expect that to be an issue against Fulham. The visitors will be a threat going forward, but Spurs should have too much quality at the other end.
Darren Plant
