Tottenham vs. Fulham Betting Tips: Mitrovic to cause a ruckus at the London Stadium

Against just about all expectations, Fulham have enjoyed a strong start to the season, picking up eight points from their opening five games and only suffering defeat once. They enter this London derby with Spurs who are full of confidence themselves, remaining undefeated in the first five fixtures and this one looks set to be an interesting contest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Despite the Cottagers' general struggles in recent top-flight history, the last three encounters between the pair have been close; two games ending with a marginal victory of one goal for Tottenham and January 2021's visit to this very venue resulting in a score draw.

They'll take great confidence in knowing that West Ham managed to snatch a point from them at the death during Wednesday's fixture. Antonio Conte isn't the type of manager who will let that result affect his players too heavily, but they're facing a newly-promoted side who have their sights set firmly on acquiring a big scalp.

On hand for this one is @LAHamalam who has opted for two bets centred around the visiting number nine, expecting Mitrovic to impose himself on another opposition backline this weekend.

Not only has Fulham's own start been a surprise to most, but the performances of Aleksandar Mitrovic have also shocked the majority who had written him off as being an effective striker at this level.

As an old-fashioned target man in the ever-evolving modern game, the Serbian is only going to be as good as the service that he's provided. That's why for the better majority he has taken the Championship by storm whenever Fulham have fallen back into the English second tier.

And it's also why the two currently sit in 8th place after five games, they go hand-in-hand - if Mitrovic is doing well, then so are Fulham, and vice versa.

The Cottagers are executing their game plan down to a tee and that is centred around playing with width and getting the ball into Mitrovic's feet or for him to attack in the air in dangerous areas around the opposition box.

As already stated, Mitro has started the new campaign like a house on fire, with only Erling Haaland notching more in the division than his tally of five.

12 of his 22 shots this season have found the target this term, and better yet, he's met the line of testing the goalkeeper twice in a single game in 80% of his 22/23 Premier League appearances.

This puts him on a streak of clearing 2+ shots in target in his last three, including last weekend elsewhere in North London away at the Emirates, and on Tuesday vs Brighton.

Tottenham are a good defensive unit, having only conceded four goals from their opening five outings, but they haven't really been got at yet. Particularly for the top teams in the division - as Liverpool and Arsenal found out - trying to mark a direct, hulking presence who will dip, weave and bully his way through your men is a lot easier said than done.

Sticking on the Aleksandar MItrovic theme, we've delved into his numbers a little further and identified that there could be value in him scoring a headed goal against Spurs at 21/5 with BetVictor.

As you're already aware, Mitro has carried his monstrous Championship form into the Premier League after smashing the existing top goalscorer record by a landslide last term. 

While he's comfortable terrorising defences on the ground, it's his aerial abilities that really stand out. 2/5 of his top flight goals this time around have come from this method, while almost half of his shots (10/22) have been registered using his head for the London outfit.

Both his club and country know how to effectively use the Serb, with his international stats only reinforcing his deadly touch in the air. He managed 14 headed shots from 31 total attempts in Serbia's World Cup qualification process, delivering 50% of his eight goals during this time with his noggin.

Extended into the Nations League B campaign this year, Mitro let off a further seven headed shots from 13 more attempts on goal, with both of his goals in this tournament being scored via this method.

To summarise, that's 31/66 combined shots for both Fulham and Serbia that have been made with his head in 16 appearances across the three separate events.

Fulham's approach under Marco Silva since reacquainting themselves with the top tier of English football has been to get the ball wide and play to the striker's strengths. You only have to look at the numbers to garner this: 81 crosses made by Fulham in their opening five games and a combined 76% of their attacks coming down the flanks; 42% of which can be attributed to their right-hand side.

Averaging 16 crosses per game this term and looking a lot more composed with the ball, Fulham should look to this avenue to unsettle the Spurs defensive unit and give Mitrovic something to work with on Saturday.