When Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley last met in the Premier League it ended with Spurs battering the Clarets 5-2 and there was a sense that the Lily Whites could achieve anything as they sat atop the table
Now eight months on Ange Postecoglou’s side are not quite as optimistic as they once were.
By no means have they had a bad season, but it is not quite been campaign they thought it was going to be when they won eight of their first 10 games.
Now as we look toward the end of the Premier League season, the North London side are still mathematically in the race for Champions League football but would need Aston Villa to dramatically mess up to have a chance of playing in Europe’s premier competition next season.
Spurs have only won 1 of their 6 games and look to be limping towards the end of the line.
For Burnley, this is a must-win.
Should Vincent Kompany’s side fail to win they will be relegated. There’s even a scenario where they can win this game and still get relegated should Nottingham Forest get a result against Chelsea.
Kompany is still optimistic about his team’s chances of survival: “We’re a team that is alive, we’re a club that is alive.”
While their fate is currently not in their hands and they are reliant on other teams doing them favours, should they be able to take it to the last day of the season, they may very well find themselves in a straight shootout with Forest as they meet on the final gameweek.
Despite the two sides being 14 places apart in the league, their brand of football is quite similar.
They both like to have a lot of all the ball and are very quick in transition.
One thing this Tottenham team does promise now is entertainment, which is not always a good thing for their fans.
Spurs have been on the wrong end of some batterings over the course of the campaign and they are susceptible to conceding a lot of goals in single games.
This should give the Lancashire side cause for optimism as they will be aware they are going to have chances to score in this game.
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Team News
Tottenham Hotspur
Ange and co, have had to contend with quite a few injuries as of late.
Timo Werner has become a fan favourite during his loan at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but he is going to miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.
Destiny Udogie had impressed in his maiden season with Spurs, but he will miss the remainder of the campaign.
Welsh international Ben Davies has picked up a calf injury, but there is an outside chance he may feature again at some point before the end of the season.
Fraser Forster, Manor Solomon and Ryan Sessegnon are all carrying long-term injuries and will not feature.
Burnley
Nathan Redmond has not played a game since the two sides met in the FA Cup in January and looks set to miss this one as well.
There is hope that Italian Under-21 international Luca Koleosho may feature before the end of the season, but he will not be fit for the visit to Tottenham.
Aaron Ramsey, Ameen Al Dakhil and Jordan Beyer have all been on the shelf for multiple months and it appears it will stay that way for the remainder of the season.
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Likely Lineups
Tottenham Hotspur
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Emerson; Hojberg, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Richarlison
Burnley
Muric; Assignon, O’shea, Esteve, Vitinho; Cullen, Berge; Odobert, Brownhill, Gudmundsson; Foster
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Key Players
Tottenham Hotspur- James Maddison
The former Leicester City man started the season like a house on fire and seemed like he was on the verge of jumping up to the level of the absolute elite.
However, the attacking midfielder picked up an injury against Chelsea earlier on in the season which saw him sidelined for two months.
The England international has never quite recaptured his early season form since returning to the side.
In many ways, Maddison’s season has mirrored Tottenham’s. Not bad, but maybe not quite as good as promised earlier on.
But do not be mistaken, he can still turn it on and be an absolute creative force and will have plenty of opportunities to contribute going forward against a Burnley side who have conceded 74 goals in the league so far this season.
Maddison came off the bench against Liverpool during his side’s entertaining 4-2 loss at Anfield. He looked good and seemed eager to prove his quality.
Postecoglou should turn to Maddison for this game to try and give his side the creative edge they have been lacking in recent weeks.
No doubt he will have aspirations of getting on the plane for the Euros this summer.
Maddison must see this as one of his final chances to impress England manager Gareth Southgate.
Burnley-Sander Berge
The Norwegian international is far too good of a player to have two relegations on his CV.
But this is the reality that faces him should his side go down at the end of the season.
Berge is vital to Burnley in every game, but he will be of particular importance against a team like Tottenham, both offensively and defensively.
He is key going forward due to his ability to carry the ball from one-third of the pitch to another. The midfielder’s passing ability has improved during his time at Burnley as well.
Defensively Berge knows just where to position himself at all times. Very often, he’ll intercept the ball and start counter-attacks for his side.
This is a vital attribute against Spurs, because more often than not games against the Lilly Whites turn into basketball matches, where it is just back-and-forth.
Having a player like Berge should give Burnley slightly more control in what should be a very high-tempo game.
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Match Details
Where will the match take place?
The game will be at the impressive Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
What time is kick-off?
It is scheduled to begin at 15:00.
How can I watch it?
This game will take place during the blackout, so unfortunately fans based in the UK won’t be able to watch.
