Match Preview for Tottenham v Burnley
Fresh from the high of lifting the Europa League but still smarting from midweek heartbreak, Tottenham kick off their Premier League campaign against newly promoted Burnley on Saturday.
Thomas Frank’s side came within minutes of adding the Super Cup to their trophy cabinet on Wednesday, leading Paris Saint-Germain twice through Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.
However, late goals from Lee Kang-in and Goncalo Ramos forced penalties, where Spurs fell short. Van de Ven and Mathys Tel’s missed spot-kicks proved decisive, with the latter sadly subjected to racial abuse online afterwards.
Despite the gut-wrenching defeat, Spurs matched the European champions stride for stride – a positive sign as they aim to improve dramatically on last season’s 17th-place league finish.
History is also on their side: the North Londoners have twice hosted newly promoted teams on opening day in the Premier League era, beating Ipswich in 2000 and Aston Villa in 2019.
However, Frank’s men enter the clash having failed to keep a clean sheet in 13 consecutive top-flight games – their longest such run since 2010 – a stat they’ll be keen to end.
Burnley arrive with a defensive record to envy. Under Scott Parker, the Clarets set a new all-time English league best last season by conceding just 16 goals in 46 Championship matches and racking up an incredible 30 clean sheets.
Yet, they missed out on the title to Leeds United on goal difference, becoming the first side to reach 100 points without winning the league.
Their Premier League history offers a more sobering picture – 20 consecutive games without a clean sheet and defeats in each of their last three opening-day fixtures. They’ve also never won at Spurs in nine previous top-flight visits, with their only positive result a 1-1 draw at Wembley in 2017.
Team news for Tottenham v Burnley
Tottenham remain without a lengthy list of injured players. James Maddison (ACL), Radu Drăgușin (ACL), Kota Takai (foot), Manor Solomon (calf), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Destiny Udogie (knee) and Bryan Gil (knee) are all out.
Yves Bissouma also missed the Super Cup after being dropped for repeated lateness, but he will return. Dominic Solanke returned from an ankle problem on Wednesday and is expected to start.
For Burnley, Parker has near full availability, though Zeki Amdouni (ACL) and Benson Manuel (Achilles) remain sidelined.
Zian Flemming, Bashir Humphreys, Jordan Beyer, Connor Roberts and new goalkeeper Martin Dubravka have recovered from knocks, with Dubravka in line to debut if his shoulder is ready.
Kyle Walker is set to face his old club, while Armando Broja may be eased back after injury issues.
Expected line-ups for Tottenham v Burnley
Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Palhinha; Kudus, Sarr, Odobert; Solanke
Burnley: Dubravka; Walker, Esteve, Ekdal, Hartman; Cullen, Ugochukwu; Edwards, Hannibal, Anthony; Foster
