The Daly Brief | Fulham vs Spurs, Premier League | OneFootball

"Last weekend, Fulham became just the second team to win at Sunderland this season. It was a top result from a side that have been strong at home too, while Igor Tudor has been outlining how he’s set to approach his second game in charge."

Rob Daly, official club commentator, presenter and pundit

Who starts on the wing for Fulham?

Marco Silva has confirmed winger Kevin will miss the match with an injury picked up at the Stadium of Light. “A big blow for us,” explained Fulham’s manager in the week, “(We’re starting) to see the reason he was brought in - the quality was becoming more difficult for opponents to control." However, they have suitable replacements out on the left side. Samuel Chukwueze, on loan from AC Milan, could be fit to feature and was a perpetual threat playing the position at Spurs earlier in the season. Another option is Oscar Bobb, who came on for Kevin at Sunderland, hoping for a first start following his £27m move from Manchester City. Harry Wilson hasn’t always been a regular starter for Fulham since his 2021 move from Liverpool, but at the moment he’s a certainty to play down the right on Sunday. A superbly weighted pass into Alex Iwobi (more on him later) to score on Wearside last week was his 13th goal contribution in the league this season (8 goals, 5 assists).

How will Igor Tudor approach this game?

Having sat down with Igor Tudor this week, it’s clear he may have to tailor his style to get Spurs the points they need, saying 'now is not the time for footballing philosophy'. “I need to be smart to understand deeper the moment and (sic) how to take the points, even not looking to the style now in this moment,” he further outlined in his press conference. His teams are known for their high-intensity pressing but the Croatian spoke of how the team’s injury crisis makes that difficult, given the demands being put upon the fit players in the squad. “It's fantastic to go to press up and that's when I speak about style. That's also one part of the style, how you want to be without the ball, but then if you have too many problems back, then you need to think about the style - it's the right style.”

Could we see Spurs change formation?

All of this leaves the door open to a potential to switch of formation too, with Tudor refusing to confirm whether he’d move from his preferred 3 at the back to 4 at Craven Cottage. “We will see, all options are there," he said. With 13 fit players for the north London derby, including Dominic Solanke and Richarlison only on the bench after illness and injury respectively, Spurs went 3-5-2 with Joao Palhinha in defence and Archie Gray at wing-back. Crucially, the return of Kevin Danso and Pedro Porro gives greater options for a similar set up again, but Spurs' Head Coach says he and his staff having been working to think of various ways of setting up to get results.

Can Palhinha shut down Fulham's midfield runner?

Alex Iwobi’s deployment in a deeper midfield role has been a real find for Fulham. Having come through as a winger at Arsenal, the Nigerian international has shown for club and country how effective he can be working centrally. With Emile Smith-Rowe or Josh King operating in the 10 position, Iwobi is playing in the double pivot, given the licence to drive in possession and break forward as he did to score his smart goal at Sunderland last week. Former Fulham favourite Joao Palhinha may be tasked with shutting him down – a player Tudor has called 'a big leader'. “Important for the dressing room, all his skills, not just as a player, also as a human being, you know… you believe in that moments are the best for the team, and in this particular moment, some of us need to play in the role that he's not the best position.” Let’s see if those two go head-to-head in midfield.