With little separating them in the Premier League table after 20 games, London rivals Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur round off this weekend's action at Craven Cottage on Monday night.
Marco Silva's side suffered a late 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United in their most recent encounter, while the visitors were left to rue individual mistakes in a 4-2 loss to Manchester City in midweek.
Match preview
© Reuters
Ex-Magpies striker Aleksandar Mitrovic was only 12 yards away from making his return to St James' Park a memorable one, as Fulham kept Newcastle at bay before being awarded a contentious penalty in the second half.
Mitrovic unsurprisingly stepped up to the spot, but the Serbian comically touched the ball twice as he slipped over to score - leading to the effort being ruled out - and Marco Silva witnessed Alexander Isak come off the bench to head Newcastle into the lead with 89 minutes gone.
A spot in the top five of the table is still a distinct possibility for Fulham on Monday, as the seventh-placed Cottagers are only two points behind Spurs and one adrift of Brighton & Hove Albion, who could only draw with Leicester City on Saturday.
Defeat to Newcastle ended a five-game winning run for the Cottagers since the resumption of domestic football, but Silva's side are proving that they can go toe-to-toe with the Champions League hopefuls and welcome Spurs to Craven Cottage less than two weeks after defeating Chelsea on their own patch.
Not since 2012 have Fulham managed to win three consecutive home matches in the Premier League, but only Newcastle and Manchester United have overcome the Cottagers on home soil this season, and some may even consider Silva's men to be the favourites for Monday's showdown.
© Reuters
After benefiting from Man City's defensive lapses in the first half at the Etihad Stadium, it was Tottenham's turn to make a wealth of errors in the second 45, as they failed to build on the gifts that were presented to Dejan Kulusevski and Emerson Royal just before the break.
Within just 18 minutes of the second half, the champions turned the tie on its head to lead through Riyad Mahrez, Julian Alvarez and Erling Braut Haaland, and the former added a second right at the death to settle an enthralling six-goal contest.
Lamenting the fact that his side are making "many, many mistakes" after losing their third Premier League game from four since the turn of the year, Conte's men remain in the top five after Brighton failed to beat Leicester, and the gap to fourth-placed Newcastle United now stands at six points following the Magpies' goalless draw against Crystal Palace.
Only one of Spurs' last five Premier League games has ended in victory, although that did come away from home in a London derby against Crystal Palace - thumping the Eagles 4-0 at Selhurst Park - and the Lilywhites have now scored at least two goals in their last four Premier League matches on the road.
Conte's men edged past Fulham 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this season, and the Lilywhites have also won each of their last six Premier League contests at Craven Cottage, but historical successes will count for nothing if Spurs' error-strewn defence cannot tighten up fast.
Team News
© Reuters
Reporting no fresh injury concerns from their trip to the North East, Fulham will welcome Antonee Robinson back from a one-game ban as the American left-back prepares to displace Layvin Kurzawa.
Neeskens Kebano remains out for the long term with his Achilles injury, while Shane Duffy will also need a once-over after suffering from an illness, but Silva will be loath to make any changes to his team after an eight-day rest.
Issa Diop was given the nod over Tosin Adarabioyo at Newcastle and can feel confident of holding his place after a competent showing, while Carlos Vinicius will accept a spot on the bench against his former club as Mitrovic - who has scored in all four of his Premier League London derbies this term - aims to right the wrongs of last weekend.
Tottenham also have a near-empty treatment room for Monday's game, with their only guaranteed absentee being long-term tendon victim Lucas Moura, while Bryan Gil is a doubt after picking up a knock.
Conte has admitted that he will need to assess Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski, who showed signs of fatigue on Thursday after recently returning from injury, and a few changes should be afoot for the Lilywhites.
Ivan Perisic had a night to forget at the Etihad and should make way for Ryan Sessegnon, while Richarlison is a candidate to deputise for the under-performing Son Heung-min.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Tete, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Palhinha, Reed; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Mitrovic
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Kane, Richarlison
We say: Fulham 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
An in-form Fulham side working with a week's worth of rest should have the upper hand over Conte's fatigued crop, who are still struggling for answers in all departments and are unlikely to find them on Monday night.
The Lilywhites' penchant for goals away from home should still serve them well, but we cannot back Spurs' mistake-laden crop to get anything from this London derby, and Fulham can look forward to leapfrogging their opponents in the table with all three points here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
