After an F.A Cup hiatus the Premier League returns to action this weekend and although there are a couple of Friday night fixtures beforehand, a large amount of focus will be on Saturday’s early clash at Turf Moor.
Burnley, who have managed to put a small amount of daylight between themselves and the bottom three after going unbeaten in their last six league outings, play host to a Tottenham side who are picking up a head of steam at just the right time.
For Sean Dyche’s men it has been a remarkable run of results as of late, they’ve earned 12 points from the last 18 that are on offer and as a consequence they now find themselves lying 15th in the table.
And after their last league outing, they have now gone level on points with Brighton, the team that they got the better off at a rain soaked AMEX Stadium almost a fortnight ago. A win that certainly would have been sweet for former Seagull Ashley Barnes, as his goal wrapped up all three points.
No matter how good Burnley’s form has been as of late, they are certainly going to be in for a test this weekend as opponents Tottenham have won their last four league outings and all without their talisman Harry Kane.
The England international picked up an ankle injury in Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at the start of the year and many felt that his absence would seriously derail any title hopes that the North Londoners would have had.
However, Tottenham have a new hero among their ranks. Step forward Hueng min-Son, the South Korea was called upon to take over the goalscoring mantle for the club and although Kane’s shoes are relatively big to fil, there has been drop off in results either.
To be fair Son has almost been the saviour rather than the hero. An equaliser against Watford was the spark for Spurs to go on and get a winner in the dying seconds, while his strike was all the difference in their recent win over Newcastle.
Tottenham’s four wins in a row has catapulted them back into the title race and with Manchester City not playing this weekend, then the opportunity to close the gap on the defending champions is a huge one.
Not only that but fellow challengers Liverpool have to travel to Manchester United, so there is every chance that this could be a pivotal weekend in what is now setting out to be a three horse race for the Premier League title.
Tottenham know that with the dominance of their nearest rivals this season, a draw is almost as good a defeat and with that in mind they cannot afford any slip ups in East Lancashire come Saturday lunchtime.
Then again, one must not forget that they are yet to draw a Premier League game this season and it is not a record that they will want to see come to an end this weekend. Thankfully for them, they should have enough at their disposal to earn an all-important away win.