Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley

Tottenham Hotspur’s quest to return to winning ways faces a potential banana skin as relegation-threatened Burnley arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

Tottenham’s season is falling apart following another disappointing result at Liverpool last weekend. A 4-2 defeat at Anfield marked Spurs’ fourth consecutive Premier League loss, denying them a fighting chance in the top-four race down the final stretch. Ange Postecoglou’s porous defense has conceded 2+ goals in their last four league outings at an average of 3.25 per game. The impending home return offers consolation, with Tottenham winning three consecutive top-flight matches in North London before losing to fiercest rivals Arsenal last time out. With each of those four contests featuring over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet, a high-scoring affair could be on the cards. Against this backdrop, three of Spurs’ last five home meetings with Burnley have yielded identical 1-0 wins (W5).

On the other hand, Burnley’s survival hopes are hanging by a thread after a dismal 4-1 home loss to Newcastle United last weekend left them five points adrift of safety. With 17th-placed Nottingham Forest five points off ahead of the final two rounds, the Clarets must win both matches and hope results elsewhere go their way. Not even the most die-hard Burnley fans can realistically expect Vincent Kompany’s side to hold up their end of the bargain in London, considering only three clubs have collected fewer away league points than the Clarets’ 14 this season (W3, D5, L10). On top of that, they’ve picked up just three points from 19 league encounters against current top-half sides this season (D3, L16).