Tottenham Hotspur will play their first Premier League game under Thomas Frank against Burnley at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday 16th August at 3pm. Spurs’ new era officially got underway with a defeat on penalties to PSG on Wednesday, while Burnley will be playing their first game back in the top-flight after earning promotion last term.
Tottenham to Win & Under 3.5 Goals (6/5 with BoyleSports)
Tottenham Hotspur have won eight of their nine Premier League home games against Burnley (D1), only failing to take all three points in a 1-1 draw in August 2017, under Mauricio Pochettino. Spurs may have missed out on the Super Cup by the narrowest of margins, but there were plenty of positives to take from their performance against PSG, particularly in defence. With Romero and Van de Ven fit, Spurs have one of the best defences in the league and they can shut out Burnley here.
The Clarets didn’t concede more than one goal in any of their 46 league games last season. However, in the Premier League they’re without a clean sheet in 20 games since a 2-0 win at Fulham in December 2023. Backing the hosts to win in a relatively scoring affair looks a solid proposition.
Dominic Solanke to Score First (4/1 with BoyleSports)
After recovering from an ankle issue, Dominic Solanke stepped off the bench on Wednesday night and is expected to reclaim his place in the starting XI on Saturday. Frank is set to switch back to a more attacking approach, having sensibly prioritised defence against PSG. The forward managed 16 goals across all formats last season and I expect that figure to rise this term, with more impetus now on him in the final third after the departure of Son Heung-min. This also means that Solanke should be the first choice penalty taker at the club and I’m backing him to score first on the opening weekend.
How both teams go into Tottenham vs Burnley
Tottenham ended the 2024-25 season with glory, lifting the Europa League trophy in May. It ended a 17-year wait for a trophy. But it doesn’t completely take away from the poor campaign Tottenham had. The north London side finished 17th in the Premier League, which saw Ange Postecoglou sacked at the end of the season. Frank has come in to replace him and will be expected to hit the ground running.
Although they did fare better at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season, it was far from a happy home for Spurs. They won just six of their 19 home league games, losing 10. Only the three relegated sides lost more home matches in the Premier League last season. And they ended the campaign with three successive defeats at home.
Burnley are back in the Premier League, securing promotion at the first time of asking. Scott Parker was commended for his job in the Championship last season. The Clarets had the best defence in the Championship, conceding just 16 goals, averaging 0.35 per game. But Parker now has the task of making sure he doesn’t fall as Vincent Kompany did two seasons ago.
Burnley were the best away team in the Championship last season, taking 49 points from their 23 matches. The Clarets won more away games than any other side (14) and lost the fewest matches on the road (two). But they did lose 11 away games in their last Premier League season in 2023-24.
Tottenham team news
Radu Dragusin is still out for a few months after undergoing surgery on an ACL injury in February. Dejan Kulusevski is also expected to miss the start of the season through injury. James Maddison is also out for the majority of the campaign with an ACL injury.
Burnley team news
New signing Kyle Walker will hope to start against one of his former clubs after joining Burnley in the summer. Martin Dubravka is a doubt with a shoulder injury
Tottenham vs Burnley head-to-head
Tottenham have won their past four games against Burnley across all competitions. They’re also unbeaten at home against the Clarets since 1983.
| Date | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 11/05/24 | Tottenham 2-1 Burnley | Premier League |
| 05/01/24 | Tottenham 1-0 Burnley | FA Cup |
| 02/09/23 | Burnley 2-5 Tottenham | Premier League |
| 15/05/22 | Tottenham 1-0 Burnley | Premier League |
| 23/02/22 | Burnley 1-0 Tottenham | Premier League |