Ah, the magic that is the FA Cup. The top teams in England are always devastated and afraid to play in the early stages of this tournament, knowing that there are always opportunities to get embarrassed by some of the lower league sides. Alas, this is the prospect facing Tottenham this weekend, as it takes a break from its busy schedule in both the Premier League and the Europa League to play in the FA Cup Round of 16 match against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
At 9 a.m. ET, tune into FOX Sports 1 for live television coverage of this FA Cup match on Sunday, February 19, 2017, at Craven Cottage.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Fulham +355
Tottenham -128
Draw +282
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
The warning signs are definitely there of an upset just by looking at the odds at BookMaker.eu. Sure, Tottenham is favored in this one, but the margin is only at -128, making it not all that much better than 50/50 that the Spurs advance on Sunday. Otherwise, it will either be the indignation of getting bounced from the premier tournament in England by a Championship side or having to play a replay at White Hart Lane, the latter of which is probably the last thing Mauricio Pochettino wants to see with all of the fixtures his team has to get through already.
The total is somewhat low at 2.5 with -135 vig on the over, especially knowing that these FA Cup matches can really open up at times.
How They Got Here
Both of these teams entered in the third round proper of the FA Cup and have had great success to reach this point. The Cottagers took care of Cardiff City on the road to kick off FA Cup play in the third round and followed that up with a 4-1 thrashing of Hull City in a match that was really never all that close.
Tottenham had no issues with Aston Villa in the third round, but in the fourth round at home against Wycombe, there was a real sense of urgency in the dying moments. The Spurs were down 2-0 and 3-2 to the League 2 side before getting a goal from Dele Alli to level and finally getting the winner seven minutes into stoppage time from Son Heung-min.
Recent Form
This is where things get a little interesting. Tottenham hasn't been in great form of late. The Spurs were destroyed by Liverpool 2-0 over the weekend, and that came on the heels of a stunningly close 1-0 game against Middlesbrough at home the weekend before. A scoreless draw against Sunderland was before that, and then came the 4-3 escape from lowly Wycombe Wanderers.
Fulham still has a ways to go to get back into the playoff for promotion to the Premier League, but it's almost there. The team has been scoring goals at will of late, dropping three on both Nottingham Forest and Wigan, and that came on the heels of beating up Burton Albion 2-0.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Fulham's offense could be devastating in this match to a Tottenham team that just flat out hasn't had a lot of answers on the other end of the pitch. Oh sure, Harry Kane and the crew really should be able to put in goals against a Fulham team that has conceded 37 goals in 31 matches in the second division this year, but we aren't so sure.
If the Spurs take this match lightly, this is a winnable match for Fulham. Keep the names Neeskens Kebano and Scott Parker in mind. You don't know who these guys are ( though Parker has been in the EPL several times in the past ), but they're midfielders who have been pouring goals in the back of the net. Fulham could easily pull off this upset.
FA Cup Odds: Fulham 2, Tottenham 1
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