Fulham will be looking to make it three victories in eight days when they challenge Tottenham Hotspur at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon (KO 4pm).
Having extended their unbeaten home record in European to 22 games on Thursday night with a 4-1 victory over Wisla Krakow, Mousa Dembele is hoping Fulham can make the most of home advantage in the Barclays Premier League this weekend.
“Last year we won against Tottenham and I think they all know in their heads that it is not easy to play against us at Craven Cottage and that is definitely to our advantage,” said Dembele.
“I talk with my other Belgium colleagues in the international team and they always say they don’t like to play against Fulham. They don’t like to play Fulham away; it [Craven Cottage] is a really difficult place.”
Dembele scored the decisive second goal at the DW Stadium to secure Fulham a 0-2 victory over Wigan last weekend and the gifted attacking midfielder was evidently delighted to have put the finishing touch on an impressive all-round performance.
“I was very pleased because it was the first goal of the season for me and the thing I want to improve the most is to score more goals,” said Dembele.
“For me, in the past, it [scoring] was never the most important thing. I want to play well and help the team. I want to perform for the team and if I score it is great, that’s my kind of thinking.”
If Fulham are to head into the international break with their tails up, they will have to overcome a Spurs side packed full of world class performers. Dembele for one, is clearly relishing the challenge that awaits.
“I like to challenge myself and compare myself with the best,” Dembele explained. “They [Spurs] have a lot of great players there – it’s not only Bale. I like to challenge myself against a big team like that. Tottenham have big players, and I prefer that.
“I think the best players in the world learn something from everybody because you cannot be born with everything. Even Messi may look at a player who plays in League 1 or something and if he does something on his own then yes you can learn from him.
“If I see someone who does something good, even if it is Bale, I look at it and try to learn something from it for sure.”