Tottenham vs Burnley preview: Can Spurs end their Wembley hoodoo as Harry Kane looks for his first league goal in August?
Mauricio Pochettino's side looking to banish talk of problem playing at the national stadium but Sean Dyche's clarets have already seen off Chelsea this season
TOTTENHAM will hope to finally break their Wembley hoodoo when Burnley visit the national stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Spurs’ first Premier League game at Wembley ended in defeat as Mauricio Pochettino’s side suffered a disappointing and undeserved 2-1 loss against reigning champions Chelsea.
Sean Dyche’s Clarets shouldn’t provide as stiff opposition, although they did beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the campaign.
Spurs will be without full-back Danny Rose while Erik Lamela and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou are also expected to miss out.
Dean Marney is Burnley’s only absentee. He is still recovering from a knee ligament injury sustained in January. Chris Wood could make his debut after joining from Leeds United.
Our friends at Football Whispers preview Sunday’s big game in the Premier League (kick-off 4pm).
Key battle: Harry Kane vs Ben Mee
Much has been made of the Tottenham striker’s failure to score in August – his run now stands at ten games – but the England international has hit the woodwork in both of Spurs’ Premier League games. His failure to score is more down to bad luck than poor form.
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A goal can’t be too far away, although Kane has only scored once in four appearances against Burnley for Tottenham.
Following the departure of Michael Keane to Everton, Mee, who started his career at Manchester City, has become the key man in the Clarets’ backline and he will be tasked of shackling Kane.
The 27-year-old’s positioning is his biggest strength. You will rarely see him dive into tackles, proven by the fact he’s yet to make a challenge in the Premier League this season, but he’s averaging ten clearances per game and has made three interceptions.
Mee’s ability to ready the game will be important as Burnley face the difficult task of keeping Kane quiet at Wembley.
Potential Match Winners
Kane is Spurs’ obvious goal threat but the trio behind the striker are all capable of winning any game for Tottenham.
Alli has already opened his goalscoring account for the season while Christian Eriksen has racked up two assists in two games.
Heung Min-Son hasn’t yet replicated the form he displayed last season. But he was instrumental in the 2-0 win over Newcastle United despite not having fully recovered from a broken arm.
Burnley were blunted by Tony Pulis’ West Bromwich Albion last weekend but proved against Chelsea they have the players capable of causing bigger sides problems.
Sam Vokes, who is the Clarets’ first-choice striker after Andre Grey was sold to Watford, netted twice against the Blues and will attempt to unsettled Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.
The biggest task for Burnley is ensuring the Welsh international doesn’t become isolated.
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Managers’ tactics
Pochettino has shown tactical flexibility throughout his time in charge of Spurs but he has set his side up in 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 systems for the opening two games of the campaign.
He could opt to switch to a back three against Burnley in an attempt to outnumber the Clarets in midfield. But he is likely to revert back to the former in order to get his attacking quartet into the same side.
Dyche has usually deployed a 4-4-2 formation during his managerial career but with a lack of striking options, and the likelihood that Burnley will play much of the game without the ball, expect the visitors to be set up in a 4-5-1 system that is designed to frustrate last season’s runners-up.
Likely line-ups
Pochettino won’t make wholesale changes to his Spurs side but the Argentine is likely to include Son in his starting XI for the first time this season.
The South Korean should start in place of Eric Dier or Victor Wanyama as Spurs won’t need the extra defensive protection against Burnley.
Dyche isn’t a man who rotates for the sake of it which is why the Burnley side which starts at Wembley should be the same, or very similar, to the one which took the field against West Brom last Saturday.
Key stat
Spurs have averaged over two goals a game in their six Premier League meetings with Burnley. The Clarets have won just one of those meetings and have kept just the single clean sheet.
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