EFL Cup: Burnley Set to Give Spurs a Hot Reception

Burnley vs Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs head to Burnley for an EFL Cup last 16 clash on Wednesday night when the London aristocrats will enter the cauldron of Turf Moor on a chilly Lancashire evening.

Sean Dyche’s Clarets are on a winless run at home, but there are green shoots of revival at the club, and once they start to turn home draws into wins then the Turf will surely become an imposing place to visit once more.

But Nuno Espirito Santo’s Spurs come into the game as favourites, and with a rich array of talent at his disposal the manager will bring a strong group of players for this encounter.

There’s a glut of great games for SBOTOP football fans to enjoy this week and this is one of the most intriguing clashes between two teams who desperately need a win for rather different reasons. The Clarets come into the game on the back of a draw away to Southampton while Spurs put in a limp performance in their defeat against West Ham.

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Talking Points

Cornet can lift the Clarets

Burnley have made a slow start to the 2021/22 campaign and are currently sitting in 18^th place without a league win in their first nine games. Sean Dyche’s team has recovered from slow starts before, and there are signs that the Clarets might start to climb the table before too long.

Just one defeat in the last five games in all competitions and some near misses in the search for a win suggest the Lancashire club is not too far away. Last-gasp equalisers for both Leeds and Leicester have denied Burnley wins and, against the Foxes in particular, they can count themselves unlucky.

Summer signing Maxwell Cornet announced himself to the Premier League with a stunning volley at the KingPower Stadium, but he went off injured and Leicester hit back late on to grab a point.

The former Lyon man scored a brilliant double last Saturday as Burnley played out a 2-2 draw away to Southampton and he is real talent, scoring four goals against Manchester City in three Champions League appearances for Lyon.

The Ivory Coast star has taken some of the pressure of Burnley’s young winger Dwight McNeil, who has been Burnley’s most creative player. Opposing defences have more to think about now, and Cornet is sure to feature in the EFL Cup 2021 highlights this week, if he starts as expected.

After four transfer windows of frugal spending, Burnley’s new owners have backed the manager and this summer, in addition to Cornet, Dyche has brought in experienced goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, Wales wing-back Connor Roberts, attacking midfielder Aaron Lennon and highly rated centre-back Nathan Collins.

The 20-year-old Collins stepped into the side in the absence of captain Ben Mee, and he showed he belongs in the Premier League as a commanding centre-half while making his full debut for the Republic of Ireland last week.

As Dyche shuffles his team with the dual purpose of climbing the table and going deep into a cup competition, all five of the summer signings could play some part against Spurs.

Spurs search for silverware

Harry Kane is expected to redeem himself in Tottenham’s upcoming EFL Cup match — Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane looks dejected during their Premier League defeat to West Ham United

Nuno Espirito Santo is expected to field a strong side to face Burnley. One of his stated intentions on his arrival at Tottenham was to end the club’s long silverware drought. The Whites won this tournament back in 2008 but the trophy cabinet has been gathering dust since then.

There is plenty of quality running through the Spurs team from Hugo Lloris in the goals to Heung-Min Son up front. But talisman Harry Kane only has one league goal so far and in the weekend defeat to West Ham he was sitting rather deep. Tottenham didn’t manage a single shot in the second half in the 1-0 loss, but Nuno still claimed his team were the better side.

I expect Kane to play in a more advanced role, while the in-form Tanguy Ndombele runs the midfield.

History

These two famous old teams were the kings of England in the early 1960s as Burnley won their league title, and then Spurs did the double in 1962, beating the Clarets into second place in the league and the FA Cup.

More recently Spurs have had the better of the head to heads, winning 12 of the last 20 meetings, drawing four and losing four, and the London club did the double over their northern opponents last season.

Burnley made it to the last 16 of the Carabao Cup thanks to a 4-1 win over Rochdale as Jay Rodriguez scored all four goals, while Spurs beat Wolves on penalties to reach this stage.

Recent form clearly illustrates the shape of these two clubs, with just one win and one defeat in the last six, Burnley are looking to convert draws to victories while Spurs have won three and lost three over that period and are searching for consistency.

Betting Tip

	Burnley vs Tottenham Hotspur	Over 2.50 @ 1.92
	October 28, 02:45 (GMT+8)

The EFL Cup 2021 betting odds point to a hard-fought game and a real possibility of another penalty shootout for the Whites. At 2.73 to win the Clarets have a good chance to make it to the final eight while Spurs, at 2.32, will hope to finish the game in 90 minutes.

I think we’ll see goals as Burnley will try to give their fans a long-awaited treat and Spurs aim to make up for their display at West Ham.