Fulham are no longer a yo-yo club, they will not fight for survival in the Premier League but for Europe. Who knows, maybe even for a place in the Champions League, if they beat Tottenham in the city derby at their Craven Cottage, in the last match of the 21st round of the English top tier.Because, if Marco Silva’s men win, they will leapfrog fifth-placed Tottenham in the standings. Given that the top four teams will be in the elite, and that Chelsea and Liverpool are below any acceptable level this season, anything is possible.Even that Tottenham, Fulham’s direct rival in the fight for Europe, are not playing well this season. No matter how much coach Antonio Conte praised the approach of his chosen ones, Spurs’ fans are certainly not smiling and lack confidence after three defeats in the last four league matches. United escaped to +6, Brighton, Fulham, Brentford, and after them Liverpool and Chelsea are breathing down Tottenham’s neck…MATCHDAY 👊🆚 Fulham🏟 Craven Cottage🏆 @premierleague⏱ 8.00pm#️⃣ #FULTOT pic.twitter.com/aJatvtGuA5— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 23, 2023 Conte’s team does not have the luxury of losing to the Cottagers, and the Italian knows very well that his biggest threat is Aleksandar Mitrović. The Serbian national team player is Fulham’s top scorer, with 11 goals he is the fourth top scorer in the entire Premier League. Whoever talks about his team, cannot fail to mention him.Not even Mitrović’s teammate Andreas Pereira, who gave an interview to Sun before this game.”Aleksandar is a funny guy, who persistently tries to speak in Portuguese,” a smiling Pereira described him, before expressing his expectations for the rest of the season in a much more serious tone:”We all know that we have great quality. The manager put us together and believes in us. This is the most important. The support he brings us is out of this world. That’s why we all play so well. Sometimes that’s all a football player needs. I needed more support at United. I have never had a coach who explains to us about every little thing that can happen on the field. I love that we cooperate”.Bayern and Manchester United battling it out for uninterested KanePereira was close to a transfer to Fulham back in 2016. However, the management of the London club was too casual in the negotiations with Manchester United, the Brazilian ended up in Granada, but he hardly regrets it too much. Because in Spain he met his wife Patricia, with whom he has two children, a daughter Maria (3) and a son named Gianluca (1).Fulham have all the reasons to feel good about how the season is going but tonight they face the tough assignment of stopping the ever-dangerous Harry Kane.PREMIER LEAGUESaturdayLiverpool – Chelsea 0-0Bournemouth – Nottingham Forest 1-1 (1-0)/Anthony 28 – Surridge 84/Leicester City – Brighton 2-2 (1-1)/Albrighton 38, Barnes 63 – Mitoma 27, Ferguson 88/Southampton – Aston Villa 0-1 (0-0)/Watkins 77/West Ham United – Everton 2-0 (2-0)/Bowen 34, 41/Crystal Palace – Newcastle United 0-0SundayLeeds – Brentford 0-0Man.City – Wolverhampton 3-0 (1-0)/Haaland 40, 49 pen, 54/Arsenal – Man.Utd. 3-2 (1-1)/Nketiah 24, 90, Saka 53 – Rashford 17, Martinez 59/Monday23.00: (3.35) Fulham (3.50) Tottenham (2.30)***odds are subject to change
