HomeTeams - PLBurnleyTottenham vs Burnley Preview | Predictions, Stats and Key Players

Tottenham vs Burnley Preview | Predictions, Stats and Key Players

The North London derby result has breathed fresh life into the race to finish in the top four. Tottenham are now in striking distance of Arsenal and they will relish the challenge of gatecrashing the Champions League places. To do that, they will need to win their two remaining matches. The first comes this weekend at home to Burnley. They lost the earlier meeting between the two clubs at Turf Moor. That will give confidence to the visitors and this is the tougher of the two matches that Spurs have left.

It has been a good few weeks for Tottenham, with the last seven days underlining the progress made under Antonio Conte. They gave Liverpool a good game last weekend and they could easily have won at Anfield. Their counter attacking threat is their biggest strength. They will have a different test this weekend, as Burnley will sit off in a deep block. They will try to frustrate Spurs and threaten at set pieces. It will require a different type of performance from Tottenham. They will need to be patient and break Burnley down, something they struggled to do in the previous fixture.

The relegation battle is still one of the most interesting things happening in the Premier League. Burnley are still in the fight and they will know that they can’t afford to write off the game against Tottenham. Even though the home side are the heavy favourites, the Clarets have only three matches remaining and they will need more points to ensure their Premier League survival. During their time in the Premier League, they have managed to secure several memorable days against the bigger clubs. They will need to draw on those experiences if they are to get anything from the game on Sunday.

Interesting stats

Since Antonio Conte took charge of Tottenham, only Manchester City and Liverpool have taken more points.

Burnley have only won twice in 18 Premier League away matches this season.  Only Everton and Norwich have a worse away record in the league this season.

Key men

Kane

It hasn’t been the season season for Harry Kane, but he has still managed to get 15 goals and eight assists. These are great figures and underline his ability. Even in a poor season by his standards, he is is among the league leaders in the final third. Only Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah have got more goal actions than Kane this season. The combination of Son and Kane is an excellent partnership. Their high numbers in the final third give Tottenham a great chance of winning any match. Antonio Conte has managed to find the right balance in the team, with the addition of Dejan Kulusevski adding an extra dimension to the attack. The Swede has enhanced the output of Son and Kane, showing that it was a smart piece of recruitment by the club. In recent weeks, it has been Son that has played a starring role. However, during the week, it was Kane that scored two of the three goals. In the build up to the third goal, his superb centre forward play led to Son getting on the score sheet, even if he won’t be credited with the assist officially. Burnley will sit deep and try to frustrate Tottenham. Kane’s ability to drop deep and play defence-splitting through balls will be key. He is also capable of scoring from distance if he is given too much space. This feels like a game for him to shine, rather than Son.

Cornet

Maxwel Cornet has been a successful signing for Burnley. He was signed to play in a more advanced foward role and he is a different profile to the stereotypical signing by Burnley. It would have been easy for Cornet to fail at Turf Moor. However, he has quickly adapted to English football and there have been a number of memorable moments from his first season. Cornet has scored eight goals in the Premier League, which is more than double any other Burnley player. Without him, Burnley would have been in a perilous position when it came to goal scoring. His pace will be important in getting behind the Tottenham defence. There is normally space behind the wing-backs when they push forward and the Clarets will be trying to exploit that on the counter attack. Cornet will be key to that.

Team news

Cristian Romero has been ruled out for the rest of the season, which is a blow as he has been a huge part of Tottenham’s improvement in defence. Davinson Sanchez will play the final two matches of the season. Matt Doherty, Sergio Reguilon, Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga are all unlikely to feature again this season.

James Tarkowski is a major doubt for this weekend, but it is hoped he will be back. Ben Mee, James Rodriguez and Johann Berg Gudmundsson are all ruled out. Ashley Westwood and Matej Vydra have long term injuries.

Verdict

There are sometimes strange results at the end of the season. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see a team fighting relegation to go to a Champions League contender and win. However, it seems unlikely in this match. Tottenham were in great form during the week and they will believe that they can beat Arsenal to fourth. They are likely to win both games that they have left to play. It would be a surprise if this match doesn’t end in a home win.

Tottenham 3-0 Burnley

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