Championship side Fulham host Premier League title contenders Tottenham in the fifth round of the FA Cup this afternoon (2pm kick-off) hoping to emulate the efforts of Lincoln City and Millwall on Saturday.

Danny Cowley’s Lincoln left it late to see off Premier League outfit Burnley 1-0 at Turf Moor yesterday lunchtime, before Shaun Cummings’ late strike for Millwall secured them a cup upset with a 1-0 success over Premier League champions Leicester.

Those results will be the perfect incentive for Slavisa Jokanovic’s Fulham, who go into today’s game off the back of two straight league wins, both of which were at Craven Cottage.

However, they know that they’ll have to be at their best to beat Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham, even if Spurs have struggled in recent weeks.

The North London side lost 2-0 at Liverpool last weekend before meekly succumbing to Gent 1-0 in the Europa League on Thursday, so they know that they’ll need to respond against the Cottagers this afternoon if they are to make it into the quarter-finals for the first time since 2012.

Nonetheless, Fulham will sense an opportunity against the Premier League side, and here are THREE reasons why they will cause an upset at Craven Cottage this afternoon…

They’re in decent form

The Cottagers have been in reasonably good form over the last few months, having lost just three of their last 15 games in all competitions.

All three of those have come in the Championship, where Jokanovic’s men currently sit eighth and six points off the play-off places.

However, Fulham have won both of their league games this week, coming from 2-1 down to get past struggling Wigan 3-2 on Saturday before once again coming from behind to defeat Nottingham Forest by the same scoreline in midweek.

Add in that all three defeats since the end of November have been by the odd goal, and Fulham are certainly a difficult side to beat, but one that also have goals in the team, and enough quality to cause an upset this afternoon.

Strong home record

It may not be one of the best home records in the Championship, but Fulham have been pretty strong at Craven Cottage this term.

They have won seven of their 16 home league matches, drawing five and losing the other four, which isn’t form to write home about, but three of those four defeats came within their opening six games of the campaign.

Since then, Fulham have only suffered a narrow 2-1 loss to promotion-chasers Brighton, while they have seen off Huddersfield and Reading, currently placed third and fourth respectively, 5-0.

Add in that they have beaten Newcastle at home this term as well, alongside just one defeat in ten and three successive home wins, and Fulham will be confident against a Spurs team who haven’t had a great few weeks.

Spurs in a rut

If this game was played this time last month, then Pochettino’s Tottenham would be huge favourites given that they had just beaten West Brom in the Premier League to extend their winning streak to seven matches.

However, fast forward a month and things aren’t looking so bright in North London.

Pochettino’s men have won just two of their six matches since thumping West Brom 4-0 at White Hart Lane on January 14, one of which was the 4-3 thriller against Wycombe, and that unconvincing 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough at the start of February.

Other than that, Spurs have been held by both Manchester City and Sunderland, and their last two games have seen them produce lethargic displays to lose at Liverpool, and then Gent in the Europa League.

Pochettino admitted after their European defeat that his side were in a ‘bad period’, which will be music to the ears of Fulham fans hoping for a major upset at Craven Cottage on Sunday.