Tottenham will face Burnley as their first obstacle in the pursuit of a long-awaited trophy, meeting them at 9 PM at their own stadium. It is certain that Postecoglou’s men will enter this match with maximum focus, eager to reach the next round of the competition.
Tottenham: Victory is imperative!
You can root for Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, it’s a matter of taste. But if you love football, then you must adore this season’s Tottenham. Everything they have done from August to the last day of the calendar year deserves applause equal to that which Hugo Lloris received on his farewell from the club before moving to MLS, as well as the euphoric greetings from the stands of the new White Hart Lane following the 3:1 victory over Bournemouth in the last round of the Premier League. It certainly wasn’t the best performance of Ange Postecoglou’s team, but it is an indicator that the team from London, apart from being able to play attractively (as it usually does), can also compete.
The impression is that the guests were at least equal and perhaps deserved a point by chances, but Spurs look stable enough even when they seem shaken. Tottenham’s position – currently a point behind city rivals Arsenal in the race for a Champions League spot – gains in value knowing that in the first 20 rounds they were overwhelmed with personnel problems. Almost every key player has been absent due to injury in recent months. Sessegnon, Perisic, Solomon, Richarlison, Bentancur, Romero, Van de Ven, Maddison have all been sidelined, and just when fans thought the problems were over, Pape Sarr got injured. The young midfielder “opened” the opponent in the early stages of the match, hinted at a celebration in London with his second goal of the season, but then got injured after half an hour and left the field in tears (just like young Argentine Alejo Velez towards the end, for a similar reason).
In just about 20 minutes, Sarr went from joy to sorrow, as he showed the host the way to another celebration, and then brought himself to a state of despair, as he might miss the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (called up to the Senegal team), since his performances this season have become a pillar for Tottenham. Moreover, knowing that Bissouma is going to the same competition, and Heung Min Son to the Asia Cup, you can imagine what kind of period awaits the popular Spurs.
Burnley: Focus is on the League!
After dominating the Championship last year under the guidance of manager Vincent Kompany, Burnley gave the impression of a team that could survive in the top tier. The Clarets have, however, become accustomed to the role of underdogs, but far from having completed their mission. Burnley’s latest results suggest that they still have a chance to survive, despite losing their last two matches against Liverpool and Aston Villa, with a score of 3:2 in the last round.
Burnley lacks “sharpness” in the team. Swiss international Zeki Amduni, who was bought from Basel for 18 million euros, has been trusted, but he has yet to make his mark in the Premier League. He has played in 17 matches and scored only two goals.
Vincent Kompany has done a great job since arriving at Turf Moor just over a year and a half ago. He completely changed the club, refreshed the squad, and in his first season, returned them to the elite by finishing convincingly first in the table, playing attractive, attacking football. Perhaps that style of football “worked” in the Championship, but it’s a bit harder in the Premier League. There, the teams are significantly better, and every mistake is costly.
It’s hard to believe that Burnley’s players will be overly motivated in a cup match where they are absolute underdogs, and a potential win against the favored Tottenham would certainly boost their confidence, but it would burden the team with additional matches in a period where they will realistically be fighting a tough battle for survival, and every point will be worth its weight in gold.
This season, Burnley hasn’t played too badly on away grounds, ranking 14th in the league by that parameter. In 10 away games this season, they have recorded 6 losses, 2 draws, and as many victories. In the last 3 rounds of the Premier League, they recorded a draw, a win, and the mentioned loss to Aston Villa.
In the previous match between these two teams, we saw a real rhapsody on the field with as many as 7 goals. It was the 4th round of the Premier League when Tottenham celebrated a convincing 2:5 victory away. It’s also interesting to note that Burnley has never won at Tottenham’s stadium and has managed to draw only once in a total of 10 matches. All in all, this will be a very tough test for Kompany’s men.
Our Betting Suggestions
The odds for a home win (fr 1) at the Mozzartbet bookmaker are 1.42, while the odds for an away win (fr 2) are 7.00.
We believe that Tottenham will justify their role as favorites and that we won’t see an overly efficient match, so we suggest the bet 1&ov 3.5 goals at odds of 2.65. The htft 1-1 bet looks very tempting at odds of 2.00, while for those chasing higher odds, we suggest the bet 1&un 2.5 goals at odds of 5.80 at Mozzartbet.
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