Ben & Rob's preview - Burnley, Carabao Cup
Wed 27 October 2021, 10:30|Tottenham Hotspur
Bouncing back after West Ham, Carabao Cup hopes and expectations ahead of facing Burnley - N17 Live presenter Ben Haines and Club commentator Rob Daly look ahead to our fourth round clash at Turf Moor this evening (7.45pm).
Ben: "It’s going to be a fight tonight, isn’t it? Coming off the back of the weekend we have to put in a really big performance after defeat to West Ham. The second half was particularly tough, watching the Hammers sit so deep and be so resolute is probably a bit of a sign of things to come for tonight. We dominated the game against West Ham but didn’t have that cutting edge or that final pass - hopefully it will be different this time around. Burnley, despite their so-so form, are so physical and combative in terms of their style of play. They won’t change for anyone or anything so we know what we can expect. Cup competitions this year are crucial. I think we have a side that is comfortably able to challenge for the top four in terms of its quality, and I also think this is a squad who over the last five years has deserved silverware and the League (Carabao/EFL) Cup is the perfect way to make it happen. You can find yourself in a semi-final by January before the FA Cup has even got into full swing and before the European competitions are in knockout phase. On a personal level, I really like the League Cup. I think it presents a really good opportunity for teams across the Premier League if they take it seriously to have an exciting cup run. I’d love it if we could go one further this season than we did in 2020/21!"
Rob: "I think team selection tonight will be interesting. I imagine a mix between the Premier League XI, and the team we’ve been seeing in the Europa Conference League. Burnley’s situation is also interesting. Sean Dyche has typically rotated his squad in this competition, although in August he put out a stronger team to beat Newcastle. However, given they are winless in the Premier League after nine games, their weekend match against Brentford must be their priority. Dyche said in his press conference: “We have changed the team in the previous round, we always put out a side that we think can win, we will look to make changes once again." There’s little doubt in my mind they’ll rotate heavily. I think we saw at full-time in last season’s final how much winning that trophy would have meant to the players - Son in tears - and so many of the group have spoken about their determination to win silverware, including Lucas Moura most recently. It’s a huge two weeks before the international break. Games against Burnley and Vitesse will determine how far Spurs go in those respective cups while United and Everton are around that group trying to get top four. A win tonight would set the mood nicely going in to those matches."