Fulham are boosted by the return of Sascha Riether for tomorrow's London derby with Tottenham Hotspur.

The German defender is available again after serving a three-match ban and is set to replace Elsad Zverotic at right-back for Rene Meulensteen's first game in charge.

Dimitar Berbatov is expected to return after illness, but young striker Moussa Dembele will be assessed after picking up a hamstring injury in the 3-0 defeat at West Ham.

Skipper Brede Hangeland is an ongoing injury concern as the Norwegian struggles to overcome a persistent sciatic nerve problem.

The game will come too soon for Hugo Rodallega, who is on the road to recovery following a groin injury, while Matthew Briggs is also out.

Meulensteen has ordered his side to get back to basics following a nightmare run of six-straight defeats that led to the sacking of Martin Jol.

He said: "We know what position we are in. It's a position that Fulham don't want to be in, the staff don't want to be in and the players don't want to be in.

"But this is where we are at and we have to do our utmost to get Fulham back up the table.

"The most important thing is that we close our ranks, we know where we are in the league and it is not the place Fulham wants to be.

"It's a massive challenge but at the end of the day when you are faced with a challenge like this it comes down to making sure that you get the basic things right.

"We need to make sure that the players believe and then you make sure you get the basic things right - work-rate, discipline, that sort of thing."