Tottenham vs Burnley Preview: Spurs look for first clean sheet as Mourinho says unit is still work in progress
Tottenham Hotspur has been looked at as one of the teams gunning for the title in the ongoing English Premier League. Led by a charismatic and immensely-skilled manager in Jose Mourinho, the side is on a roll with a strong start to their campaign and ahead of their clash against Burnley where they start as the favorites. Mourinho quashed comparisons between a rebuilding Spurs squad and the Real Madrid outfit he managed in 2011-12.
It was a season to remember as the La Liga giants bulldozed oppositions to a league title with a massive 121 record strikes and with the Spurs looking ominous by the game, the Portuguese manager seemed to be taking a similar route with the North London team as they have been on top of their offensive game. According to Goal, Mourinho was keen on focusing on team cohesion over comparisons. "In Real Madrid, I had amazing, amazing attacking players and we managed to build the team in a certain way," Mourinho said.
"I have to be honest and say we have lots of good attacking players here but we need to give stability to the team because the team needs stability in the back to feel solid, confident – to [be able to] have a go. So we need to find that balance." The gaffer also spoke about the side looking to evolve as a more organized unit and work on the areas that still need improvement.
"It is a team thing, it’s not just about individuals. We need to be able to play with all these attacking players and have the team with everybody ready to be organized defensively and not to give space to the opponent. And behind, we need to improve in some details – that’s obvious.
"You look to our squad and incredible quality and numbers and options from midfield to attack and we are trying to find solutions and we are trying to be organized. Thursday for example Ben Davies played, I think, for the first time as a center-back in a back four because before it was in a back five."
Progress from the 2019-20 season
The need for the organization came in after Mourinho took over from Mauricio Pochettino as the manager of the side. The Spurs had a disastrous start to their 2019-20 campaign and with Mourinho's arrival, they ended the season placed sixth. Barring the odd speed bumps, the new season has seen a clinical Tottenham side. The massive 6-1 loss they handed to Manchester United will be spoken about for years to come and with the quality of strikers in the squad, there's no reason why the Spurs cannot emulate Madrid's ss performance.
A look at the stats shows that Spurs have scored the most goals in the Premier League so far. They have 15 goals and have conceded eight in the five games they have played so far. Heung-Min Son leads the side with seven goals while Harry Kane has chipped in with five and has seven assists to his credit. The team's passing accuracy has vastly improved with 85% in comparison to the previous season were registered 81% (Complete season).
Need for a clean sheet against Burnley
Burnley is right at the back in 18th place while the Spurs will look at this game as an opportunity to make it to the top five. They would have probably been sitting in one of the five slots if not for the paltry defense against West Hame after Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane's brace put them in the cruise control last week. Now, it is an opportunity for the side to get their first clean sheet. The side has some quality defenders in Joe Rodon, Matt Doherty, and Sergio Reguilon who will be keen to not give Burnley an opening.
"Joe Rodon, we just love his potential, his mentality. He needs to work to get there. Matt Doherty has just arrived and he is also adapting," Mourinho said, according to the site. "Reguilon, of course, is, especially going forward, an incredible player. He needs also to adapt to the defensive demands of the Premier League. It’s a process."
The kick-off is slated for 4 pm ET on Monday, October 26, 2020. The game can be streamed live on Peacock Premium.