Tottenham’s quest for FA Cup glory begins on Friday night as they host fellow Premier League outfit Burnley.
Despite having to deal with a mountain of injuries in the wake of their superb start to the campaign, Spurs’ 3-1 victory over Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve means they’re within touching distance of the leading pack.
Ange Postecoglou has already been forced to deal with plenty of adversity and the upcoming international tournaments in Asia and Africa won’t make the Aussie’s life much easier given the players he’ll be without as a result.
Nevertheless, Spurs supporters very much believe big Ange is the man to return silverware to N17 and the significance of the FA Cup shouldn’t be played down. While they’re certainly not out of the Premier League title race, this competition is certainly their best chance of claiming some silverware this term.
Vincent Kompany’s Burnley have shown signs of life in recent weeks after a dismal start to 2023/24, but the Clarets are seemingly destined for the drop. The Belgian, too, will be keen to oversee a promising cup run.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the FA Cup third round tie.
Tottenham vs Burnley H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
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Country |
TV channel/live stream |
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United Kingdom |
ITVX, STV Player, ITV 1 UK, STV Scotland |
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United States |
ESPN+ |
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Canada |
Sportsnet East, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet Now Plus |
Spurs are now without Pape Matar Sarr and Son Heung-min for the next few weeks as their services are needed on international duty.
The suspended Yves Bissouma is also away with Mali at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Dejan Kulusevski will return from his suspension on Friday with Postecoglou expected to name a strong starting XI for this cup tie. However, he still won’t be able to call upon Cristian Romero, James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Ivan Perisic, Manor Solomon or Ryan Sessegnon.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Burnley (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Royal, Davies, Udogie; Skipp, Bentancur, Lo Celso; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Johnson.
Sander Berge’s red card at Villa Park means he’ll miss Friday’s cup tie, so young Aaron Ramsey could get a chance to impress in Kompany’s midfield.
Spritely winger Luca Koleosho is set to miss out once again with a knee injury, but the Italian should return to action around the winter break.
Jack Cork and Michael Benson are both doubts.
Burnley predicted lineup vs Tottenham (4-4-2): Trafford; Vitinho, O’Shea, Beyer, Taylor; Gudmundsson, Ramsey, Brownhill, Odobert; Amdouni, Foster.
Tottenham squeaked past Everton and Bournemouth in their previous two home outings and their imperious stadium has a crucial role to play over the next month or so given their considerable absences.
They will miss Son’s efficiency and Sarr’s dogged running in midfield, but Rodrigo Bentancur’s early return from injury is a huge boost. Giovani Lo Celso’s creative spark has also mitigated James Maddison’s absence.
This Spurs side will surrender as many chances as they create and xG defier Son was crucial to their recent success. Burnley have improved since their 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Ange’s men at Turf Moor in August and this has the makings of another tight affair for the hosts.
Prediction: Tottenham 2-1 Burnley
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90Mins
