Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur: Looking for a Lift Following Abject European Display

Antonio Conte

Four games into Antonio Conte’s reign and the new manager has done all that could have been expected of him with the ‘tools’ – make of that term what you will – that he had to work with. Things have calmed down in the league where an away point at Everton was followed by a mixed performance that was enough to claim all three points against Leeds last Sunday.

Either side of those matches, Antonio has looked to save our Europa Conference League campaign after it was in danger of fizzling out. We’re still there, just, but Thursday’s performance against Mura was one of the worst any of us has ever witnessed. How many times have we said that in the last two years?

All that we can hope is that Conte has seen enough in regards to some of the second string and that they will be on their way after Christmas. We’ll just have to gloss over Thursday and hope to move on as we prepare to take on Burnley this Sunday.

Team News

Oliver Skipp missed last week’s game with Leeds due to a one-match suspension and is back in the fold for the visit to Turf Moor. Skipp is back in but Cristian Romero is out with a mid to long-term spell on the sidelines expected to be confirmed very soon.

Giovani Lo Celso and Dane Scarlett were both listed as doubts for the game against Mura on Thursday and neither travelled with the squad. Steven Bergwijn also missed that trip due to an illness and there are no updates on his situation at the time of writing.

Match Odds

Sunday’s game gets underway at 2pm but it’s not being picked up by the main TV broadcasters this time. Ahead of the kick off Spurs start as favourites with the best odds on the away win coming in at 13/12 with VBet. The draw is the next option at a top price of 13/5 with MansionBet and VBet while a win for Burnley finishes things off at 14/5 with VBet.

Burnley have struggled this season but they did take a point away from league leaders Chelsea in the final round of games before the last international break. The Clarets followed that up with another draw – a 3-3 scoreline at home to Crystal Palace last time out

Tottenham’s overall form is patchy but things have steadied under Conte and that will have been taken into account when these odds were set.

Side Markets

harry kane
Harry Kane

Despite scoring just once in 11 league games so far this season, it’s no surprise to see Harry Kane start as favourite to open the scoring. Harry leads the way in the first goalscorer betting at best odds of 18/5 with Unibet while Son Heung-Min follows at 27/5 with VBet.

Burnley’s Chris Wood has caused us problems in the past and he can be found at 6/1 with Betway while the Clarets’ Matej Vydra is quoted at 15/2 with QuinnBet. Other options from within the Spurs camp include Steven Bergwijn at 17/2 with 888Sport, Lucas Moura at 19/2 with Unibet, Dele Alli at 10/1 with QuinnBet and Tanguy Ndombele at 16/1 with VBet.

Away from individual markets, Both Teams to Score is quoted for Sunday’s game at 4/5 with QuinnBet and 10Bet. Neither side has been prolific across the entire campaign so you may want to consider No on BTTS at 11/10 with SportNation.

In the total goals betting, we start with an option for Over the 2.5 line at 19/20 with 10Bet. That doesn’t often get above Even Money so that’s not a bad figure. Alternatively, you can push to Over 3.5 goals in return for odds of 47/20 with Unibet.

That leaves us to round off once again with some Correct Score Tips and if you’re still feeling positive following the change in the dugout, the 2-1 away win can be claimed at 33/4 with SportNation. The same scoreline in favour of Burnley is on offer at 12/1 with 10Bet while there should be some neutral interest in the draw which is listed at 27/4 with MansionBet.

Last Season

Spurs claimed all six points from their two fixtures with Burnley in what would prove to be a rare double last season. Gareth Bale led the way in a 4-0 home victory while the away game was settled by a solitary Son Heung-Min strike on 76 minutes.

Played during lockdown, Harry Kane had earlier cleared off the line before he set Son up to continue their prolific partnership from 2020/21. Kane flicked on Erik Lamela’s corner before Sonny sealed the tie from close range.

Remember too that this is our second visit to Turf Moor this season after a solitary Lucas Moura goal saw Spurs edge past the Clarets to make the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup.

Verdict

Obviously it’s another tough one to call: We have some momentum under Antonio Conte but our games in the league haven’t exactly been convincing. As for Thursday night, we just need to move on.

A comfortable win would be nice just to confirm that our attacking force hasn’t completely lost its edge. Looking at the Kane and Son goal from last season on YouTube just underlines that point.

We don’t, however, expect this to be a high scoring affair with two teams not at their best in front of the target. Under 2.5 goals is the first selection and, while we’d hoped it might rise above Even Money, odds of 5/6 aren’t the worst.

The second bet is a familiar one as we focus on Son Heung-Min in the individual goal scoring markets. Sonny has largely been profitable for us since we started these previews but he’s another player going through a barren spell at the moment.

Hopefully Harry and Sonny will click as they did last season. We’ve taken Son in the first goalscorer market recently so we’ll play a touch safer and go for the anytime option which still carries a reasonable price of 33/20.

Two tight trips to Turf Moor have resulted in 1-0 wins and we’d be happy with that again but let’s hope that the final outcome might just be a little more empathic and, of course, that it comes down in our favour.

Best Bets:

  • Under 2.5 goals at 5/6 with QuinnBet
  • Son Heung-Min to score at any time in 90 minutes at 33/20 with Unibet

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