Thomas Frank kick-starts his reign as the new Tottenham Hotspur manager in the Premier League against newly promoted Burnley on Saturday.
Tottenham fans are hoping the team does not replicate the Premier League form of last season as Spurs get set to kick-start their 2025/26 top-flight campaign with a home game against Burnley. The North Londoners did cap off the previous campaign with the UEFA Europa League crown, which effectively ended their well-publicised 17-year trophy drought. But in the Premier League, they finished in an unprecedented 17th place.
A few days ago, Spurs were close to adding a second European trophy in a short span, but they thoroughly squandered the opportunity. When Tottenham took on PSG in the UEFA Super Cup, they had a two-goal lead, courtesy of strikes from central defensive pair Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven on either side of half time.
PSG were clearly in the early stages of their pre-season and Tottenham at the end of theirs, which showed in each side’s fitness levels on the pitch. However, PSG staged a late comeback to level the scoring in injury time through Goncalo Ramos, and then won on penalties. As for Thomas Frank, it is imperative to get a good start to their league campaign, and the Tottenham fans will hope for a straightforward win over newly-promoted Burnley.
Scott Parker’s charges had an exceptional 2024/25 campaign in the Championship, but the newly promoted top-flight side have plenty of work ahead. The primary objective for the Clarets is to stay alive in the Premier League, which has not been the case for the six sides that came from the Championship over the last two seasons.
There is a desire from all three of the newly promoted sides to break the chain and have at least one of the teams survive the ordeal. That itself shows how difficult it is for most promoted sides to survive, and setting the tone early will seem imperative.
Team News & Tactics
Tottenham Hotspur
The big news from Tottenham’s pre-season was the massive injury to James Maddison and the departure of Son Heung-min. The North London club are angling for a replacement in the market for Maddison, and there are other injury problems for Frank to contend with.
Dejan Kulusevski is another major miss, with the attacker out for a while, while there are considerable doubts about Destiny Udogie taking part in this clash. There are fresh doubts about Yves Bissouma’s participation after Frank left the midfielder out of his squad for the Super Cup due to a disciplinary infraction.
On the positive side, Dominic Solanke returned from his fitness issue to play a few minutes in the Super Cup and will be angling for a start against Burnley. Should he prove his full fitness, Frank might consider replacing the striker with Richarlison, who had a good game against PSG.
Ideally, Frank will keep the lineup from the PSG clash very similar to the Super Cup clash, but could deploy a back four and a front three. Hence, there is the possibility of bringing Brennan Johnson back into the fold for defender Kevin Danso, with the former playing on the left side of the attack.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Palhinha, Sarr; Kudus, Richarlison, Johnson
Burnley
Scott Parker has to make sure he has his strongest lineup on the pitch to give Burnley the best chance possible to have a positive start. There are some new arrivals to look forward to, having spent considerably, as the likes of Kyle Walker, Armando Broja, and Martin Dubravka arrived during the close season.
Whether Broja is ready to start for the Clarets remains the question, but Walker and Dubravka are certain to do so due to their experience in the Premier League. In terms of injuries, Burnley could be without as many as five players, including Jordan Beyer, Zeki Amdouni, Bashir Humphreys, Zian Flemming and Connor Roberts.
In addition to Walker, Parker may have a much more familiar backline, with Dubravka in goal. Hannibal Mejbri and Josh Laurent are the preferred choices in central midfield, with Josh Cullen likely to play in the advanced midfield role. Marcus Edwards will feature on the right wing, while Jaidon Anthony occupies the left-hand spot in the wide areas. Jacob Brunn Larsen will lead the line if Broja is not deemed ready to start.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Dubravka; Walker, Esteve, Ekdal, Hartman; Mejbri, Laurent; Edwards, Cullen, Anthony; Larsen
Key Stats
- Tottenham have won their last six home matches against Burnley in all competitions.
- Tottenham have lost six of their last seven matches in the Premier League.
- Burnley have failed to win 18 of their last 20 matches in the Premier League.
- Burnley have managed only five wins from their last 38 top-flight away matches.
- Burnley did not concede more than one goal in any of their 46 league games last season. However, in the Premier League they are without a clean sheet in 20 games since a 2-0 win at Fulham in December 2023.
Player to Watch
Mohammed Kudus
Kudus will have the spotlight on him at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, as new signings often create a sense of excitement. There is always the pressure of playing for a club like Tottenham, and the desperation to have a good start to their season in the Premier League.
With Spurs having to deal with the departure of Son Heung-min and the absence of James Maddison, the onus of being the main man could soon fall on Kudus. It is up to the Ghanaian international to showcase his talent and become the talisman for this side, who are eager to make progress with their league form as well as in the Champions League in the upcoming season.
Prediction
Tottenham 3-1 Burnley
Burnley will not have wanted such a difficult start to life back in the Premier League, but they must face what’s in front of them. Scott Parker will try his best to make sure the Clarets return with something, but it may be a tall order against Tottenham.
Spurs are equipped to exploit the problems a newly-promoted side tends to have. With the game also played at home, Spurs will want to make a mark on proceedings with a big win, as they might just do that against Burnley to kick-start Thomas Frank’s reign at the club in style.
