Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen takes charge of Fulham for the first time in the local derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

Buoyed by the good performance in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United, Spurs will fancy their chances of pouring more misery on the Cottagers.

Fulham chiefs were hoping for some improvement when they appointed Martin Jol back in June 2011, but the Dutchman has utterly failed to prove his worth at Craven Cottage, leaving the club in the relegation zone after two and a half years.

His compatriot Rene Meulensteen has been trusted with the task of changing team’s fortunes, but he clearly faces a tough few weeks before he can properly reinforce the squad in January.

Fulham have been utterly disappointing of late, losing last five league fixtures, while also suffering elimination from the Capital One Cup, and this is certainly not the right time to be facing hungry Tottenham.

However, with Dimitar Berbatov and Brede Hangeland possibly returning to the side, you should know the Cottagers are 5.80 (19/5) to return to winning ways.

The two stars could return from illness and injury respectively, but Hugo Rodallega and Matthew Briggs remain in the infirmary.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-1-1): Stekelenburg – Zverotic, Hangeland, Amorebieta, Richardson – Duff, Parker, Sidwell, Kasami – Taarabt – Berbatov.

Tottenham, too, have been underperforming this season, but the good news is they are still within a touching distance of their top 4 rivals.

Back to back defeats to Newcastle and Manchester City created all sorts of problems for Spurs, but they have since managed to get back on track.

And while they had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Manchester United despite taking the lead on two occasions, Spurs can be quite satisfied with how they fared in the match.

With their next opponents going through a very rough patch at the moment, away win needs to be considered at 1.73 (8/11).

Andre Villas-Boas has no fresh injury worries, but Christian Eriksen, Danny Rose and Harry Kane remain on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Andros Townsend and Jermain Defoe are pushing for a start, with Roberto Soldado and Nacer Chadli set to make way.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Lloris – Walker, Dawson, Chiriches, Vertonghen – Sandro, Dembele – Lennon, Paulinho, Townsend – Defoe.