Tottenham Hotspur round off 2020 with a home Premier League match against London rivals Fulham on Wednesday evening.
Spurs have enjoyed a largely positive 12 months under Jose Mourinho, but they are without a win in four league matches and have slipped down the table.
Fulham are in need of points for a different reason as they enter this match inside the relegation zone, despite some improved performances.
Match preview
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Tottenham found themselves top of the Premier League following their 2-0 win over bitter rivals Arsenal on December 6, but they have since slipped out of the top four entirely.
Away draws with Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers have sandwiched defeats to fellow title contenders Liverpool and Leicester City over the past few weeks.
Mourinho could not hide his frustration after dropping two late points at Wolves, with his side seemingly sitting back on a first-minute lead given to them by Tanguy Ndombele.
Romain Saiss's 86th-minute header had a sense of inevitability about it, though Mourinho insisted after the game it was never his intention to hold out for a one-goal victory.
In less than a month, the question of whether the 'old Mourinho' is back has taken on a different meaning, with the Portuguese now appearing irritated and questioning his players.
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The only way to stop the rot is by picking up victory at home to Fulham on Wednesday in this ninth and final match of a packed December.
Tottenham lost 2-0 to Leicester last time out on home soil, though not since January 2019 have they lost successive home league games. Mourinho, meanwhile, has never lost back-to-back home league matches.
A Fulham victory really would be a shock, then, particularly given that the Cottagers have failed to win any of their last five top-flight games.
However, Scott Parker's men have at least made themselves tough to beat, drawing each of their last four, including a 1-1 draw with champions Liverpool.
Saturday's goalless draw with Southampton was hardly the worst result in the world, either, though it does mean that Fulham enter this game in the relegation zone.
The west London outfit have lost 10 of their last 11 Premier League meetings with Spurs, the only victory in that run coming at White Hart Lane in March 2013.
Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form: DWDLLD
Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions): WDLLWD
Fulham Premier League form: WLDDDD
Team News
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Gareth Bale sustained another injury in last week's EFL Cup quarter-final win over Stoke City and subsequently missed the draw with Wolves at the weekend.
Tottenham's only confirmed injury or suspension absentee is Giovani Lo Celso, who will play no part in the remainder of the festive and new year fixtures.
Given the disappointing nature of the Wolves result and the quick turnaround in matches, Mourinho is expected to make changes to his starting lineup.
That could potentially mean a change in formation and rare Premier League starts for the likes of Dele Alli and Joe Rodon.
As for Fulham, they are without Kenny Tete and Terence Kongolo, though Mario Lemina is back after being ineligible to face parent club Southampton.
Lemina's return could mean Harrison Reed dropping out, while Aleksandar Mitrovic is another of those pushing for a recall to the side.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Rodon, Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Ndombele; Bergwijn, Alli, Son; Kane
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Areola; Aina, Andersen, Adarabioyo; Cordova-Reid, Lemina, Anguissa, Loftus-Cheek, Robinson; Lookman, Mitrovic
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Fulham
Tottenham are at risk of dropping out of the title picture if their winless run stretches on much longer.
A home meeting with a Fulham side in the relegation zone might just be the perfect fixture for Mourinho's men, even if the visitors have gone four without defeat.
Tottenham have won seven and drawn three of their last 11 final fixtures of a calendar year, and we can see them adding another win to that tally on Wednesday.
Top betting tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Tottenham Hotspur win with a probability of 52.73%. A draw had a probability of 25.2% and a win for Fulham had a probability of 22.09%.
The most likely scoreline for a Tottenham Hotspur win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.82%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.17%) and 2-1 (9.45%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.91%), while for a Fulham win it was 0-1 (7.52%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 11.9% likelihood.
