Burnley’s bid to kickstart their comeback Premier League campaign brings them back to Turf Moor on Saturday as they take on Tottenham Hotspur on home soil.
Despite becoming only the fourth side to hit a 100-point landmark in the Championship en route to a top-table finish last term, the Clarets could be heading back to the second tier sooner than expected.
Turf Moor was supposed to provide Vincent Kompany and his men with a safe shelter, but their home fortress has collapsed twice this season, with Manchester City and Aston Villa running riot in Lancashire.
After the defending champions, inspired by Erling Braut Haaland’s double, dismantled Burnley 3-0 on the opening weekend, Unai Emery’s side thumped the newcomers 3-1 last Sunday.
While we backed Kompany to keep the Clarets afloat in his first managerial season in the Premier League in our Burnley season preview, we might have guessed wrong.
There’s still time for the home side to steady the ship, but with high-flying Tottenham coming to town, their hopes of overcoming a poor start this weekend are in tatters.
Spurs’ start to life after Harry Kane has been an utter success, with Ange Postecoglou’s team proving they can score in abundance even without their former talisman.
Following a goal-glutted 2-2 draw against fellow London rivals Brentford on day one, they have claimed back-to-back 2-0 league victories over Manchester United and Bournemouth.
Tottenham’s disappointing League Cup exit at the hands of Fulham on Tuesday could be a blessing in disguise and potentially help Spurs outperform our expectations for their 2023/24 top-flight campaign.
Match Preview
Amid the club’s woeful top-flight return, Zeki Amdouni offered Kompany a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, netting a late winner in Wednesday’s 1-0 League Cup win at Nottingham Forest.
Despite their underwhelming Premier League start, Burnley will fancy their chances against Tottenham after only losing once in their last four league encounters at Turf Moor (W2, D1).
However, the Clarets’ rotten spell of home form, featuring only two wins in their last six home league outings (D1, L3), indicates Turf Moor has seen better days.
Since each of Burnley’s five home triumphs in the Championship since the beginning of February saw them keep a clean sheet, their best chance of upsetting the odds will be to keep Tottenham at bay.
Unfazed by Kane’s departure and the club’s inability to replace him, Postecoglou has turned Tottenham into a formidable attacking force during his early touchline career in the Premier League.
Spurs head into round four as the only team in England’s top flight to have scored at least twice in the opening three matchdays, highlighting the Australian’s impressive work in north London.
On top of that, they have netted multiple times in four of their last five Premier League matches on hostile turf, including both without Kane.
But given their propensity for dropping points on the road, Tottenham would be wise to keep their feet on the ground, as they’ve emerged victorious just twice on their last 11 league travels (D3, L6).
Team News
Burnley manager Kompany cannot call upon the services of Darko Churlinov and Michael Obafemi, while Jordan Beyer faces a race against the clock to make the matchday squad.
Tottenham will take this trip without long-term absentees Rodrigo Bentancur, Bryan Gil and Ryan Sessegnon. But the trio’s absence did nothing to curtail Spurs’ momentum in the last round.
Burnley potential starting line-up:
(5-4-1): James Trafford; Vitinho, Dara O’Shea, Jordan Beyer, Ameen Al-Dakhil, Connor Roberts; Sander Berge, Josh Cullen, Lyle Foster, Jacob Bruun Larsen; Zeki Amdouni.
Tottenham Hotspur potential starting line-up:
(4-2-3-1): Guglielmo Vicario; Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven, Christian Romero, Emerson Royal; Yves Bissouma, Oliver Skipp; Heung-min Son, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski; Richarlison.
We Say: Burnley 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Two has been the magic number for Tottenham under Postecoglou, and we back them to hit that milestone against Burnley’s porous backline.
Spurs’ proneness to conceding should let Kompany’s side get on the scoresheet again, but this fixture has the visitors’ triumph written all over it.
