The Lilywhites will look to continue their thumping run in the league when they face Burnley this weekend. Tottenham were impressive in their win against Hull City but the Tigers did have their chances which is why Sean Dyche will fancy his side to once again defend staunchly and pick something from the game. In order to do so, here are three key battles they’ll need to win.
Harry Kane vs Michael Keane
Although Harry Kane’s scoring touch has taken a bit of temporary pause currently, we all know what he is capable of and Pochettino is apparently looking to bring in players to play the ball him up front. Despite missing some matches due to injuries, he has managed to score 7 goals and register an assist in 11 games. He is always a threat in the opponent’s half. He has a shot accuracy of 63%, which is better than most strikers across Europe and Burnley shouldn’t allow him space to operate.
Burnley will have their star defender Michael Keane to stop Kane. Keane has been a revelation this season and has fast become a hot prospect for many top clubs in Europe. He has won 10 tackles this season with a success rate of 56%. He has made 36 interceptions, 134 clearances and 24 blocks. He is more than capable of stopping Kane.
Christian Eriksen vs Matthew Lowton
Eriksen has been in top form of late. He has scored five goals in his last four games for Spurs and looks simply unstoppable at the moment. The Danish playmaker is one of the main reasons Tottenham coped well without Kane’s goal-scoring and the underperforming Janssen. Eriksen has completed 542 passes this season with a pass accuracy of 79%, of which 79% were forward passes.
It doesn’t look like a balanced battle and Matthew Lowton has to roll up his sleeves and work really hard to shut him out. Lowton has been a regular starter for Burnley so far and have the needed flow to compete with him. He has won 28 tackles this season with a success rate of 49%. He has made 27 interceptions, 75 clearances and 10 blocks.
Moussa Sissoko vs Stephen Ward
Sissoko is seizing every opportunity he gets now after a slow start to the season. His buy was termed as a technical one by pundits, but Pochettino has been quite reluctant to start with the player until a few weeks back. His blistering cameo against Man United earned him a first place against Hull City. The player depends on raw pace and sheer strength to outmuscle opponents.
He will be up against Stephen Ward. Another regular starter for Burnley, the Irish side back hasn’t had the best of the campaign so far and will have a hard time against Sissoko. He has won 17 tackles this season with a success rate of 32%. He has made 33 interceptions, 61 clearances and two blocks.
