My 5 Keys to Victory for Fulham against Tottenham - Match Preview

Fulham played a 0-0 draw against Tottenham in their FA Cup Quarterfinal match on March 6th. The replay is tomorrow at White Hart Lane. The game takes place at 7:45 UK Time and 3:45 EST. The game will be show on taped delay on Fox Soccer Plus at 8PM EST. If you would like to watch it live it will be broadcasted online at Foxsoccer.tv . There are 3 pay options for this internet site. I would highly recommend it as the quality is excellent. 

This is a major opportunity for Fulham. If they win tomorrow they will play at Wembley in the FA Cup Semifinals. Below are"my 5 keys to victory for Fulham against Tottenham."   

1. Fuham need to play from ahead at the half. In their last match against Manchester City, Fulham were at an extreme disadvantage going into the second half. Being down 2 - 0 was too much to overcome. On the road I just don't see them coming from behind.  If they are up at the half they can dictate the second half with just playing strong defense. 

2. If Brede Hangeland does not play Chris Smalling must play efficiently in his place. Hangeland was out on Sunday. Chris Smalling in my opinion struggled as his replacement. If Hangeland can play I have full confidence in this game being defended well. Chris Smalling, if he is in there cannot make a big mistake. This game could be a one goal difference.     

3. Roman Pavlyuchenko is doubtful for this match. Fulham need to shutdown his replacement Eidur Gudjohnsen and Peter Crouch. With Jermain Defoe out, and Roman Pavlyuchenko doubtful, Fulham should be able to take advantage of the situation. I like Peter Crouch , but the defense should be able to contain him. The defense needs to be able to defend and push the ball forward.

4. Fulham need to control the midfield. In the last matchup I thought Wilson Palacios and Gareth Bale were very effective against the midfield of Fulham. My key last time was Luka Modric. He will be a concern again. I leave the central midfield for Danny Murphy to control. If he is on his game he should be able to get the ball up to the likes of Bobby Zamora and Zoltan Gera.

5. Fulham need to defend perfectly on set pieces. In the last game at White Hart Lane, Fulham did poorly against set pieces and got burned. They cannot afford to be sloppy on free kicks and corner kicks. In my opinion they need to be perfect in these situations.  

To win this match, Fulham have to be aggressive and not play conservative especially in the first half. Tottenham is a very skilled team, and will create several scoring chances. This time at White Hart Lane Fulham need to create more scoring chances of their own. 

A victory tomorrow for Fulham would again put them in the FA Cup Semifinals. As you can imagine that would be an incredible achievement.