Tottenham Hotspur, who are keen to return to Europe’s elite competition next season, will play host to relegation contenders Burnley on match day 37 of the 2023/24 Premier League season. The Whites have been decent all season and are now looking to finish strong, while the Clarets’ campaign in the top flight has not gone according to plan and they now have a tough job on their hands.

Spurs’ most prominent exit over the summer was prolific hitman Harry Kane who left the North London side for Bundesliga big boys Bayern München in search of a new challenge. Other notable exits include Harry Winks who left for relegated Leicester City, Davinson Sanchez and Tanguy Ndombele to Turkish giants Galatasaray, Lucas Moura to Sao Paulo on a free transfer. Sergio Reguilon, Japhet Tanganga, Djed Spence, and Joe Rondon secured loan moves away to Manchester United, FC Augsburg, and Leeds United respectively.

Spurs also acquired Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest, English midfielder James Maddison from Leicester City, Dutch centre-back Micky van de Ven from VfL Wolfsburg, Pedro Porro from Sporting CP, Dejan Kulusevski from Italian giants Juventus, and current starting goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli. Exciting winger Manor Solomon joined from Shakhtar Donetsk on a free transfer while Giovanni Lo Celso returned from his loan spell at Villarreal.

After a very exciting start to the 23/24 Premier League campaign which saw Tottenham Hotspur sit top of the Premier League table after going unbeaten in their first ten games, they have hit a bad patch of form picking up just one point from the last fifteen that have been up for grabs. Their winless run kick-started against fellow London rivals Chelsea in a match that saw them go two men down after Christian Romero was sent off in the 33rd minute for a reckless challenge on international teammate Enzo Fernandez inside the penalty box after which Udogie received his marching orders after committing a second bookable offence in the 55th minute. The Blues did well to capitalize on the opportunity and hammer their local rivals courtesy of a Nicolas Jackson hat trick. Narrow 2-1 losses against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa were followed by a thrilling 3-3 draw away at The Etihad, home of defending champions and favourites Manchester City with their most recent loss coming against another West London outfit, West Ham. The game ended 2-1 in favour of the Hammers.

After that home defeat, Spurs bounced back to win three consecutive games against Newcastle, Forest, and Everton before another setback against Brighton at the Amex. They have lost just twice in their past 10 Premier League games as of the time of writing and will look forward to this clash with Burnley with their eyes focused on all three points.

Meanwhile, Burnley, guided by former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, has faced significant challenges adapting to Premier League life. As of the time of writing, they languish in 19th, securing just 19 points from 32 games played this season. Transitioning from a highly successful Championship campaign, where they clinched the league title, to the elite Premier League has proven daunting.

Despite losing key players integral to their promotion, Burnley made noteworthy recruitments. Departures included former captain Ashley Barnes (who moved to Norwich on a free transfer), Matthew Lowton, and Jordan Beyer. On the flip side, crucial additions included James Trafford (acquired from Manchester City for €17.30m), Michael Obafemi from Swansea, Nathan Redmond, Sander Berge, and Jacob Bruun Larsen.

The season’s promising expectations were swiftly dashed by consecutive losses to reigning champions Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Tottenham Hotspur. Burnley finally secured their first point of the season in their fourth match, after a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest. Subsequently, they suffered two consecutive defeats, against Manchester United and Newcastle United, before finally clinching their first victory of the season with a 2-1 win at Luton Town, thanks to goals from Lyle Foster and Jacob Brunn Larsen. But they failed to keep the consistency, as they lost the following six games. The Clarets then went on to thrash Sheffield United 5-0, before losing to Wolves on December 5. Since that time, the Clarets have only won two Premier League games.

On the balance of things, it is expected to be an exciting match between two sides who play almost similar styles of play but are at different ends of the table.

Match tickets

The epic match at Tottenham Stadium in London kicks off on Saturday 11th May 2024, at 3 PM UK time. 

The magnificent 62,850-capacity stadium is the place to be for this clash between the Whites and a side deep in relegation waters.

Getting Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels. 

Team news

Line-ups

Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur, known for their possession-heavy style of football, will be looking to control the game via the midfield with the experience and solidity of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, rejuvenated Bissouma and intelligent Lo Celso pulling the strings. Fraser Forster, Ryan Sessegnon, and Manor Solomon are all not expected to play a part in this game.

Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Sarr, Maddison, Johnson, Son, Werner.

Vincent Kompany’s Clarets have had a disappointing season so far. As of the time of writing, they are six points adrift of safety and only a miracle can take them out of the bottom three. Aaron Ramsey is not expected until the end of 2024, Nathan Redmond is also another player not expected to feature in this game, while Luca Koleosho could be available for selection if he recovers from his knee injury as planned.

Burnley: Muric; Assignon, O’Shea, Esteve, Taylor; Foster, Cullen(C), Berge, Bruun Larsen; Odobert, Fofana.

Prediction

Both teams have experienced their fair share of struggles in this Premier League campaign but Tottenham appear to have the upper hand; when it comes to this particular fixture, Tottenham have won each of the past five meetings at home.

The hosts won the reverse fixture and at the current state the visitors are at the moment, a win for the Whites should suffice.

Tottenham 3-1 Burnley