Tottenham Hotspur: How Spurs Match Up Against Fulham

Tottenham Hotspur will face Fulham away on Sunday in what will be Spurs' second consecutive London derby.

After an impressive win last week against Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham will look for a similar result and try to extend their unbeaten streak to eight games.

Standing in the way are a Fulham team coming off a 4-1 dismantling of Polish club Wisla Krakow in the Europa League on Wednesday. Fulham are a squad gaining confidence and Craven Cottage has been a difficult place to play this season.

Do Spurs have enough to get three points away from home and extend their unbeaten streak? Or will Fulham continue the work they started in Europe and hand Tottenham their first loss since August?

Here is how the two London clubs stack up against each other.

Manager

Under normal circumstances Tottenham would have a decided edge in this category. But alas, these are no normal circumstances.

Spurs' boss, Harry Redknapp, underwent surgery on Wednesday to unblock arteries in his heart. The operation was a success, but Tottenham will be without their manager for at least a couple of weeks.

Assistant Coach Kevin Bond has taken over managerial duties in Redknapp's absence, and Spurs were less than impressive against Rubin Kazan on Thursday. True, the Tottenham second team played, but Bond will need to have his players ready for Fulham on Sunday.

Fulham's manager, Martin Jol, said he will relish facing Tottenham after the way he was forced out of White Hart Lane in October 2007. Since he was fired from Tottenham, he managed Hamburg in Germany and Ajax in the Netherlands with much success. His return to England was solidified when he signed a two year contract with Fulham in June 2011.

With Redknapp not on the sideline, Jol should have his team brimming with confidence that they can get a result.

Edge: Fulham

Goalkeeper

Tottenham's Brad Friedel and Fulham's Mark Schwarzer are both having good seasons.

Spurs fans have quickly come to love the consistency of Friedel, a contrasting style to that of the unpredictable Gomes. He has made some remarkable saves in his first season with Tottenham, especially considering he is nearing the end of his career. The American keeper only has two clean sheets this season, however. I realize that this is not his fault alone, but as keeper he must do a better job organizing his defense.

Unlike Tottenham, Fulham have seen little goalkeeper controversy since signing Schwarzer in May 2008. The Australian has been a constant for them at the back and was named Fulham's player of the year in 2008-09, his first season with the club. He has been impressive so far this year, keeping four clean sheets despite his club only winning twice.

Both keepers are in good form and it may be a crucial save that decides Sunday's match at Craven Cottage.

Edge: Even

Defense

Last week against QPR, Spurs saw the return of captain Ledley King. The injury-prone central defender was his usual solid self and Tottenham have yet to lose a game this season when he is on the pitch.

King will be in the lineup and joining him will be Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Kyle Walker and Younes Kaboul.

The Spurs fullbacks have been in good form this season, showing ambition in assisting the attack while not spurning their defensive duties. Walker and Assou-Ekotto should give Fulham problems on the flanks when they get forward. Kaboul has also been steady at the back for Spurs. He has made the absence of Michael Dawson bearable.

Fulham looks to be without the service of Aaron Hughes against Tottenham and Zdenek Grygera will likely start in his place. Andrew Baird and John "the Kraken" Riise will likely be the starting fullbacks. Fulham could be exposed without the disciplined Hughes in the lineup, but look for Riise to cause problems for Tottenham if Walker can't corral him.

With King in the lineup, Spurs are much better defensively and until King loses a game it's hard not to go with Tottenham.

Edge: Spurs

Midfield

Unfortunately for Fulham, Spurs' midfield is arguably the best in the Premier League.

Luka Modric and Gareth Bale are fantastic but the addition of Scott Parker has made a world of difference in the center of the field for Spurs. Since Parker joined the club they have yet to lose and Parker is a big reason why. Bale had a slow start to the campaign, but with two goals against QPR he looks to have found his form. Lennon has been a question mark this season, but this will only be his second game back from a groin injury and, let's not forget, he did assist both Bale goals last week.

Fulham will have their first choice midfield available. Clint Dempsey, Steve Sidwell and Danny Murphy will likely start. They have scored five goals between them and will be the barometer by which to measure Fulham's performance against Tottenham. As they go, so go Fulham.

While Fulham's midfield has been solid to begin the season, solid just doesn't match up with the real quality that Spurs have in their side.

Edge: Spurs

Forwards

Tottenham, to begin the season, was in a bit of a striker quandary. Emmanuel Adebayor was the only first choice striker on Spurs' team sheet, with Rafael van der Vaart preferred in an attacking midfield role. In the past two Premier League games, however, van der Vaart has been paired with Adebayor up top to great results. Van der Vaart has scored in five consecutive league matches, tying a Tottenham record. Adebayor has been kept of the score sheet in recent fixtures, but his vision and distribution have been excellent.

Fulham has gotten fairly good production out of their strikers so far this season. Bobby Zamora and Andrew Johnson both have three goals to their names this season, and Zamora also has four assists to his tally. Moussa Dembele, who will likely be used on the wing and has just one goal this season, needs to step up.

Johnson proved his form in Fulham's win in the Europa League, but he has yet to match van der Vaart's form in the Premier League.

Edge: Spurs

Intangibles

Fulham's home, Craven Cottage, has been a tough place to visit this season. Fulham have only lost once at home and were the only team to take points from mighty Manchester City. They also demolished QPR at home 6-0. Playing at Craven Cottage won't be a treat for Spurs.

However, Tottenham have been playing with great confidence lately and will be looking to extend their unbeaten streak against the Cottagers. Spurs will try to let their superior quality overwhelm their southern neighbors, but the task is never easy away from home.

Especially considering the form of Fulham over the past two games, a 2-0 away victory against Wigan and a 4-1 drubbing of Wisla Krakow. Fulham also won't be likely to forget the result when the teams last met, a decisive 4-0 victory for Fulham in the FA Cup a season ago.

Spurs are playing without their manager on the sideline, how big an effect will that prove to be?

Edge: Fulham

Prediction

With all the plot lines surrounding this matchup, it should be a good game of football.

I expect Tottenham to try and jump out to an early lead with van der Vaart striking before 20 minutes pass. A goal to the good will give Spurs the confidence they need to dominate possession, and Scott Parker will continue to shine.

Adebayor will return to the score sheet with a goal in the second half after several missed opportunities by Tottenham. Fulham will gain momentum as the final whistle nears, but will only be able to pull one goal back. Andrew Johnson will be the culprit.

Let's see how that pans out for me.

Prediction: Fulham-1 Tottenham-2