Tottenham Hotspur travelled to Craven Cottage this afternoon for a London derby with Fulham in search of their third win inside a week.
After a lethargic first-half display, a long-range Sandro strike and a Jermain Defoe brace secured a 3-0 victory for Spurs and capped a fine seven days for manager Andre Villas-Boas.
The result moves the Lillywhites back into the Premier League top four, and they are now level on points with cross-city rivals Chelsea.
Meanwhile, a seventh winless game on the bounce has seen Fulham drop into the bottom half of the table.
Below, you can read how Spurs got one over former boss Martin Jol.
Afternoon all! The team news is in and both former Fulham stars start for Spurs...
£15m-man Moussa Dembele continues his comeback from a hip injury by starting in the Spurs midfield for the second time in three days.
Clint Dempsey made a transfer-deadline-day move from Craven Cottage to White Hart Lane and is beginning to find his feet at Spurs. He will provide support for lone forward Jermain Defoe.
Villas-Boas has opted to rest Kyle Walker at right-back and replace him with namesake Naughton. The England under-21 international has made eight appearances for Tottenham this season, but all on the left side of the defence.
Another change to the Lillywhites back line is the return of Steven Caulker, who missed the victory over Liverpool through illness. He partners Michael Dawson at centre half.
Here is the Spurs team in full...
SPURS: Lloris; Naughton, Dawson, Caulker, Vertonghen; Sandro, Dembele; Lennon, Bale, Dempsey; Defoe
SUBS: Friedel, Walker, Gallas, Carroll, Livermore, Sigurdsson, Falque
There are couple of newsworthy omissions from the Spurs bench. Tom Huddlestone is not in the visiting 18 despite having started 9 out of their last 10 matches.
Emmanuel Adebayor is also missing as he serves the last game of his three-match suspension after seeing red in the 5-2 defeat to former club Arsenal.
And now onto the hosts. Let us not forget that they have an ex Spurs favourite in their ranks.
Dimitar Berbatov made 102 appearances over a two-year spell at White Hart Lane, scoring 46 goals during that time.
Today he partners Mladen Petric, who is preferred to Hugo Rodallega in the Fulham attack as Martin Jol makes three changes to the side that drew 0-0 with Chelsea in midweek.
Damien Duff and Giorgos Karagounis drop to the Cottagers bench, with Kerim Frei and Ashkan Dejagah replacing them in midfield.
Turkish winger Frei makes his first Fulham start since the final-day defeat to Spurs last season. Since then he has been absent with injury, and had a spell on loan at Championship Cardiff City.
Here is the Fulham team in full...
FULHAM: Schwarzer; Riether, Hughes, Senderos, Riise; Dejagah, Sidwell, Diarra, Frei; Berbatov, Petric
SUBS: Etheridge, Kelly, Baird, Karagounis, Richardson, Duff, Rodallega
Fulham substitute Stephen Kelly is another who used to ply his trade at White Hart Lane. Plenty of connections between the two clubs today!
Around five minutes to kickoff now...
I haven't even mentioned Gareth Bale yet! The Welshman has been near unstoppable in Tottenham's two victories this week.
The managers are making that long walk from the tunnel across the pitch to their respective dugouts. And the players are now following suit...
With Brede Hangeland absent through suspension, Berbatov captains Fulham this afternoon...
Here we go then, prediction time. I am going to sit on the fence and say this will be a score draw, probably 1-1, with Dempsey and Berbatov on the scoresheet.
And the action is underway at Craven Cottage...
A few boos greet Clint Dempsey each time he touches the ball. No such treatment for Dembele though...
Berbatov drifts away from Caulker before attempting a through ball for Petric, but Lloris rushes off his line to foil the Croat.
SHOT! Great chance for Spurs, which Dempsey manufactures himself with some great feet in the area. He controls it well before turning away from Senderos, but his left footed shot from inside the box finishes several yards wide.
Lennon brilliantly controls a deep Vertonghen cross before earning a corner for the visitors.
The corner comes to nothing but Spurs have another set-piece opportunity here after Diarra crunches Dempsey from behind.
Bale hits it, but gets very much underneath it and the ball sails over the crossbar, and possibly over the stand too. Wayward to say the least!
CHANCE! First opportunity for the hosts and it all came from a superb Berbatov flick. The Bulgarian played in Dejagah down the right and the Iranian fizzed in a low cross which eventually fell to Frei, but he sends his first-time effort off target.
Dejagah puts another ball into a dangerous position in the Spurs area but Dawson stretches out to intercept before Petric can make contact.
Unfortunately for the Spurs captain, that looks like it will be his last action of the match. He immediately went down clutching his hamstring. More injury problems for the England international.
SUBSTITUTION: Spurs make that change here then, with Dawson being replaced by William Gallas.
That injury to Dawson seems to have upset the tempo a little bit here. There is plenty of passing across the defence from both teams but very little penetration thus far...
Another outstanding first-time flick from Berbatov finds a gap in the Spurs defence and Petric appears to be in on goal before the flag is raised.
Yellow card! Gareth Bale goes down under the challenge of Steve Sidwell and his theatrical fall works against him as he is booked for simulation. That is the second time in three days the Welshman has been cautioned for diving.
SAVE! Hughes finds Risse with a long through-ball and the Norwegian crosses for Petric, who has got in front of Gallas. The Croat makes good contact at the near post but Lloris gets down to make a very smart save.
SHOT! More tidy footwork from Dempsey as he spins away from his marker before firing a shot across Schwarzer, which drifts narrowly wide of the post.
Looking at Bale's 'dive' again, I think the Spurs man is treated a bit harshly there. His caution for the same offence against Liverpool was probably justified but I'm not sure the same could be said on this occasion.
SUBSTITUTION: Fulham are now forced into a change as Sascha Riether leaves the field to be replaced by ex-Spurs man Stephen Kelly.
After a long spell of possession, Aaron Lennon injects some pace into the game with a run off the right flank. His through-ball is intended for Defoe but is slightly over hit and Schwarzer can collect.
Another injury concern for the Cottagers. Dejagah receives treatment after falling heavily on his back following an aerial battle with Jan Vertonghen. He is back on his feet now and okay to continue...
Sandro turns a Dejagah cross behind for a Fulham corner...
It isn't happening for Spurs or Bale at the moment. The Welshman attempts to find Vertonghen with a cross deep but it is way in front of the Belgian and the ball drifts harmlessly out of play.
SHOT! Petric collects a pass from Berbatov before turning to shoot, but his left-footed effort goes over the crossbar.
SHOT! Lovely trick from Vertonghen as he jinks between two Fulham defenders before playing in Lennon, who has switched flanks. He crosses towards Bale, but he cannot wrap his foot around the ball enough to direct it goalwards.
Entering first-half stoppage time, of which there will be two minutes...
SHOT! A frustrated shot from Defoe, whose lack of service this period is demonstrated with a strike from an awkward position that is gathered comfortably by Schwarzer.
HALF-TIME: Fulham 0-0 Spurs
HALF-TIME: Spurs started fairly brightly but since the opening 10 minutes have been very flat and lacked creativity in attack. Berbatov has been magical at times for the visitors, but as yet has not manufactured an opening from which Fulham have been able to find a goal.
If you are enjoying our coverage today and wouldn't mind taking a couple of minutes of your time to complete this survey - http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/about/information/sports-mole-survey_48538.html- that would be of great help to us here at Sports Mole!. - Thanks!
And the action has resumed in West London, with both sides unchanged...
SHOT! Fulham have begun this second period promisingly and have twice created openings. From the first, Steve Sidwell shot wide, and from the second, the offside Dejagah was denied well by Lloris.
GOAL! Fulham 0-1 Spurs (Sandro)
GOAL! Frustrated by a lack of intent from the attacking players in front of him, Sandro decides to take aim from all of 35 yards and his low effort sneaks under Schwarzer and into the bottom corner. Sloppy from the Australian, but it won't matter to Sandro - it is a rare goal for the holding midfielder!
It doesn't take a lot to upset William Gallas, and the Frenchman has thrown a tantrum here. He is finger-pointing at the referee, fourth official, almost anyone in his eye-line. I'm not quite sure why, though.
SHOT! Gallas stops moaning in time to intercept a Petric pass and start a Spurs counter, which is spearheaded by Defoe. He releases the overlapping Bale, whose left-footed effort stings the palm of Schwarzer.
Now this will be a major concern for Villas-Boas, as Bale limps away after shooting - holding his hamstring.
DOUBLE SUBSTITUTION: A change from each bench as Sigurdsson replaces the injured Bale, who heads straight down the tunnel. Meanwhile, Damien Duff is on for Kerim Frei on the Fulham left wing.
That Tottenham alteration has resulted in some tactical tinkering from Villas-Boas, who has shifted Dempsey out to the left flank from which he was so effective for Fulham. Sigurdsson will now play through the middle, behind Jermain Defoe.
SHOT! Berbatov buys a free kick from Sigurdsson, but Petric's ambition gets the better of him and his strike from 30 yards flies over the crossbar.
CHANCE! A beautiful first-time pass around the corner from Berbatov frees Duff down the right. He creates a yard of space to cross but Dejagah cannot keep his header down.
GOAL! Fulham 0-2 Spurs (Defoe)
GOAL! Sigurdsson charges at the Fulham back line before cutting inside and feigning to shoot. Instead, the substitute skips past Senderos on his left side and plays in Defoe with an inch-perfect pass, leaving the poacher with a simple eight-yard finish. Spurs have a cushion now.
GOAL! Fulham 0-3 Spurs (Defoe)
GOAL! Spurs have wrapped the points up and it is a second for Defoe. The visitors launched a counter through Dempsey, who threads a precise pass through to the England forward. His gets the ball stuck under his feet, but then an excellent second touch gives him space to slot the ball under Schwarzer. Game over.
SUBSTITUTION: Straight swap up front for the hosts as Hugo Rodallega replaces the misfiring Petric.
SHOT! Sigurdsson wants a goal for himself now and registers an effort on target, bending one from 15 yards straight into the arms of Schwarzer.
CHANCE! Fulham force Lloris into a save. Duff sends a cross up to the back post which Rodallega heads downwards, but Lloris reacts well to save.
SUBSTITUTION: Dembele receives a warm applause from both sets of fans as he leaves the field to be replaced by promising youngster Tom Carroll.
This is turning out to be a fantastic day for Spurs, despite them not being at their best. Chelsea fell to defeat earlier, and now Arsenal have gone behind late on at home to Swansea! Michu with the goal.
We are entering stoppage time, of which there will be four minutes...
Dejagah fizzes a cross into the box but Gallas turns the ball away from danger, with Spurs determined to keep just their second clean sheet of the season.
FULL-TIME: Fulham 0-3 Spurs
FULL-TIME: Not even the most optimistic of Spurs fans would have predicted this scoreline after a flat first-half display. Fulham, led by Dimitar Berbatov, were the brighter side in the opening period, but a mistake from Mark Schwarzer gifted Tottenham an advantage. After that, Spurs only opened up the Fulham defence twice more, but on both occasions the clinical Jermain Defoe was on hand to find the net. Three wins from three for AVB's Spurs, but now no win in seven for Martin Jol's Cottagers.
That is it from me this evening, but you can read Sports Mole's report on the contest here. However, you can stay with my colleague, Liam Apicella, for live coverage of today's late kickoff between Reading and Manchester United. Thanks for joining us this afternoon!
Written by
Joe Fish
Joe Fish
