Gareth Bale
Tottenham star Gareth Bale is being courted by Real Madrid, Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City but may remain at White Hart Lane if the club qualifies for the Champions League Reuters

Tottenham host Fulham at White Hart Lane on Sunday afternoon, looking to bounce back from a last-minute defeat to Liverpool in the previous round of games. Spurs conceded a late penalty at Anfield and Steven Gerrard slotted home to give Brendan Rodgers a priceless 3-2 win and an advantage in the race for a top four finish.

The Cottagers, meanwhile, have ensconced themselves in a comfortable mid-table position and, barring a disastrous final few weeks, Martin Jol's men should be safe from relegation.

Where to Watch

Kick-off is set for 3pm GMT. Catch highlights on BBC One and BBC One HD's Match of the Day 2, at 10.25pm GMT. Live radio commentary is on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Overview

Andre Villas-Boas brings Spurs into this game on the back of two consecutive defeats - first to Liverpool and then to Serie A side Inter Milan, in the second leg of a UEFA Europa League knock-out tie. Inter hammered Spurs 4-1 on the night but the Premier League club crept through to the next round on away goals.

Spurs are third in the league table, with 54 points. They're two ahead of Chelsea and four in front of Arsenal; the Blues, however, have a game in hand. In any case though, a top four finish and qualification for next season's Champions League is well within Tottenham's own control and AVB will be keen for his players to realise that.

The defeats to Liverpool and Inter will have hurt the team because it broke an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions. In the league, Spurs have won four of the last five games. At home, Tottenham have won eight of 14 games played, losing only twice. They've scored 22 times, which is the lowest of the top four, and conceded 14 times.

Fulham striker Dimitar Berbatov returns to his former club and the Bulgarian will hope to decide the matter in favour of his side. Jol's men should be fresh and rested for this game - they haven't played since 2 March, following the postponement of last weekend's home game against Chelsea.

The last game they did play was a 2-2 draw at Sunderland, which was a bit of a disappointment. Fulham were leading 2-1 before Stephane Sessegnon popped up to score the equaliser. Overall, Fulham are in poor form; only two wins in the last five and three goals scored in the last four games.

Moreover, the club have struggled against top teams this season and have lost all four games to the Manchester clubs. Chelsea's game at Stamford Bridge ended goalless but Spurs' trip to Craven Cottage finished 3-0 for the visitors.

Worse still for Fulham fans, the club has an abysmal away record this season, with six defeats from 14 games. Only two of the remaining eight were wins and the last of those came on 1 January, when they won at Loftus Road.

Team Form

Tottenham

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): L L W W W
  • Last Match: Inter Milan 4 - 1 Tottenham

Fulham

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): D W D L W
  • Last Match: Sunderland 2 - 2 Fulham

Team News

Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor (ankle) and England international Aaron Lennon (hamstring) are expected to be fit enough to play some part in this game. AVB can call on Gareth Bale again, after the Welshman sat out the midweek game to serve a suspension. Tom Huddleston (knee) was on the bench at the Giuseppe Meazza but is unlikely to play, as he continues to regain fitness.

Probable Line-Up: Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Parker, Dembele, Bale; Holtby; Defoe

Jol has an almost full squad to select from, with ex-Real Madrid midfielder Mahamadou Diarra (knee) the only absentee. Eyong Enoh and Kerim Frei may feature but likely only from the bench.

Probable Line-Up: Schwarzer; Riether, Hangeland, Senderos, Riise; Dejagah, Sidwell, Karagounis, Duff; Ruiz; Berbatov

Real Madrid