FA Cup: Tottenham vs Burnley Live
Preview
Tottenham Hotspur will kick off 2024 with a third-round FA Cup match at home against Burnley, a fellow Premier League team, on Friday night. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since September, when Spurs secured a convincing 5-2 win over Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League.
Just three days after losing 4-2 to Brighton & Hove Albion, Tottenham quickly recovered and finished 2023 on a positive note with a 3-1 home win against Bournemouth in the Premier League on New Year’s Eve. Pape Matar Sarr and Son Heung-min scored before leaving for AFCON and Asian Cup duties, and Richarlison added a third goal. Although Alex Scott scored for Bournemouth, it didn’t affect the outcome as Spurs secured their 12th win of the season.
Ange Postecoglou’s team, currently fifth in the Premier League, took advantage of Arsenal’s loss to Fulham and closed the gap to just one point behind the Gunners in fourth place. They also remain in contention for the title, trailing leaders Liverpool by six points. Before facing Manchester United in their next match, Tottenham will focus on the FA Cup and aim to advance past the third round for the 17th time in the last 18 seasons.
At this time last year, Burnley was leading the Championship table and seemed poised to win the title convincingly. However, they are now struggling in the Premier League and facing the threat of relegation after losing 15 of their first 20 top-flight games this season. Vincent Kompany expressed frustration with what he perceived as unfair decisions that cost Burnley at least a point in their recent 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa.
The team was controversially denied a penalty for a handball, and ultimately suffered a gut-wrenching defeat when Douglas Luiz converted an 89th-minute penalty. Burnley currently sits in 19th place in the Premier League with just 11 points, five points away from safety. They have an important upcoming match against Luton Town, but first, they need to focus on the FA Cup, a competition in which they reached the quarter-finals last season for the first time in 20 years before being defeated by eventual winners Manchester City.
Head-to-head
Tottenham has been victorious in 10 matches and drawn one out of their last 11 home games against Burnley in all competitions. They have also emerged as the winners in five of their last seven FA Cup matches against Burnley, with their most recent victory being a 4-2 win at home in the third round of the 2014-15 season.
Prediction
In the last six FA Cup matches, Burnley has faced Premier League teams and there have been a total of 28 goals scored, averaging 4.7 goals per game. Additionally, in 10 of Tottenham’s last 11 matches across all competitions, at least three goals have been scored. This suggests that there could be a lot of goal-scoring opportunities in the upcoming match on Friday. Despite Tottenham missing several key players, Postecoglou still has enough squad depth to field a strong team that can potentially outscore Burnley, who have been defensively vulnerable.
