Burnley are looking to build on their derby victory against Blackburn Rovers this weekend, but will have a tough task in front of them in the form of Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.
This is the first time that the Clarets will be playing under the arch since the 1-0 Playoff final win against Sheffield United all the way back in 2009. This game is only the second Premier League fixture to be played at the national stadium, following last week's 1-2 for Chelsea against Spurs where Marcos Alonso scored either side of a Michy Batshuayi own goal.
Sean Dyche’s men will be looking to return to winning ways in the league themselves after losing to West Bromwich Albion last weekend by one goal to nil. However since that game, the squad has been improved by Dyche and his team, notably with the arrival of Leeds United striker Chris Wood.
Wood, who last played in the Premier League for Leicester City, will be looking to prove a point after his spell with the Foxes wasn’t fruitful to say the least. But after establishing himself in the Whites' team for the good part of two years and scoring 44 times for the club, Wood will be looking to show this ability in the big time.
Robbie Brady has had a good start to the season, performing excellently in the two wins so far and found the net in the Carabao Cup win at Ewood Park this week. He was very happy to get going in the season and will be hoping to build on his goal from mid week with another strong performance this weekend.
The Clarets still looking thin at the back
With only one recognised back-up centre back in their ranks, Burnley will be hoping to bring in a centre back that could bolster the second unit or one who can make a big difference on the pitch from the first whistle. Having not bought in a centre back since the £30million departure of Michael Keane to Everton, and with only six days left in this window, Clarets fans are wondering if a defender will be bought at all.
Whereas Spurs have added at the back with the arrival of Davinson Sanchez. The former Ajax centre back had an impressive season in Holland last time out. It remains to be seen if he will feature on Sunday, with Mauricio Pochettino keeping his cards to himself.
Jon Walters out
Jon Walters will not be involved in the game following his injury that lead to him being substituted in midweek, and Jeff Hendrick is also a doubt. Walters’ replacement against Blackburn was Wood so the big New Zealand forward is in line to make his Premier League debut for the Clarets. Ashley Barnes started the game on Wednesday, so he will be pushing to retain his place in the starting 11.
Charlie Taylor will be hoping to keep his place from the cup win, however his competition on the left side of defence is Stephen Ward and the Republic of Ireland international has been in fine form this season and his earned himself a national team call up.
Ben Mee and James Tarkowski will be hoping to contain superstar Harry Kane as he bids to score his first goal of the season. Mee’s biggest strength is his positioning and Tarkowski has been solid all season so far forming a good partnership.
Both teams will want to bounce straight back
It isn’t essential either team wins this contest, both teams will want to go away on the International break happy. More pressure will be on Spurs as they are the home team, but they also want to show their fans that the team doesn’t suffer from a ‘Wembley curse’ which struck them throughout their poor European campaign last season.
Burnley will be confident that they can take something off of one of the big teams again but Spurs have been runners up in the League for the past two seasons, and will unfortunately have too much quality for the Clarets to handle. If Burnley can escape with a point, it will be a great result, but don’t put it past them from leaving London with maximum points again.