Confidence is soaring at Fulham, and veteran midfielder Scott Parker is hoping that means it will be third time lucky when they welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Craven Cottage on Sunday.
Parker spent two years playing for Spurs – even winning their Player of the Year award for the 2011-12 season – before moving from White Hart Lane to Fulham in 2013.
The 36-year-old has squared-off with his former employers on two occasions since, with the Cottagers slipping to 2-1 and 3-1 defeats, but he is still confident the third time can be a charm in their Emirates FA Cup fifth round clash this weekend.
Slavisa Jokanovic’s Championship troops have already taken a Premier League scalp in the competition this term by impressively downing Hull City 4-1 in their fourth round clash.
Fulham have also won four consecutive home games in all competitions heading into the tie, scoring 12 times in the process, and it is that form which means Parker won’t be treating the match as just a trip down memory lane.
“I’m very much looking forward to it,” said Parker. “Obviously it’s my old club, so it’s always good to see familiar faces and they’re a very good side, with a fantastic manager.
“I have some fond memories of playing at Spurs, it was a good time for me.
“We go in there as underdogs but they’re coming here after a Thursday night game, and they go again the following Thursday so I don’t know how Mauricio Pochettino’s going to view it and how he’s going to use his squad.
“What’s good at the moment is that we’re not playing great, certainly not the best we’ve played, and we’re still getting results. That’s pleasing.
“But we beat a Premier League side here in the last round and we’re pretty confident, so I’m sure we’ll give a good account of ourselves.”
Emirates FA Cup history
Fulham have never won The FA Cup, and reached the Final for the only time in their history in 1975 as a Second Division team – going down 2-0 to West Ham thanks to an Alan Taylor double.
This is the first time the Cottagers have reached the fifth round since 2011, and they last made it to the quarter finals a year prior.
Tottenham first won the FA Cup in 1901 – making them the only non-League side to do so since the formation of the Football League in 1888.
Having won the 1921 edition of the competition, Spurs then became the first English team in the 20th century to complete the League and FA Cup double in 1961 before also lifting the trophy in 1962, 1967, 1981, 1982 and 1991.
That gives them eight wins in total: the third-most of all-time behind Manchester United and Arsenal.
Did you know?
Having started his career at Charlton, before heading to Chelsea and West Ham, Scott Parker became the first man to represent clubs in north, east, south and west London in the Premier League by turning out for Spurs.
As a 13-year-old, Parker appeared in an advert for McDonald’s during the 1994 World Cup campaign, in which he did keepie-ups.
One to watch
Tom Cairney is one of the most highly-rated prospects outside the Premier League and has hugely impressed in his 33 appearances for Fulham this term. The 26-year-old midfielder, who joined from Blackburn in 2015, often skippers the side and has been heavily linked with a move to the top-flight – although the Cottagers put a £20m price tag on his head during the January transfer window.
The prize
A cheque for £180,000 and a place in the draw for the last eight awaits the winners. An additional £247,500 is guaranteed in TV revenue for the quarter-finalists.
