Mourinho not keen to compromise in attack
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Tottenham Hotspur v Burnley – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Premier League – Saturday 3pm
Tottenham Hotspur v Burnley – Preview:
Jose Mourinho admitted he needed to tinker with his leaky Tottenham Hotspur backline, but not at the risk of hindering the north Londoners rapidly improving attacking options.
Spurs were beaten for the first time under Mourinho’s tenure as Manchester United recorded a 2-1 midweek Premier League success at Old Trafford. But although the Lilywhites have now conceded eight goals since the Portuguese took the reins, they have plundered a healthy eleven in return, a tally they will be keen to grow when Burnley are the visitors on Saturday.
“We have to sort out the defence without losing what we have in attack,” Mourinho explained.
“We conceded two in each game but we scored in all of them and could have scored even more than we did.
“We are conceding too much, and conceding some cheap goals and we have to try to stop it. The best way to do that is to work and we haven’t had time to work.”
Burnley offer the twinned-threat of Ashley Barnes and Chris Woods in attack and Mourinho was under no illusion as to the task his side faced as they looked for a return to winning ways: “We know the way they play, how dangerous they can be and where they are dangerous. We know everything about them unless they come with some surprise out of the context since they arrive in the Premier League.
“There are no surprises but it is difficult to play against them. From the defensive point of view, we have to be good collectively because this is not going to be a fight between two strikers and two centre-backs. It’s a team.”
Spurs have no fresh injury concerns. Ben Davies (ankle), Erik Lamela (hamstring), Hugo Lloris (elbow) and Michel Vorm (calf) remain sidelined.
Tottenham Hotspur v Burnley – Head to head:
Tottenham Hotspur won: 46
Drawn: 27
Burnley won: 41
Tottenham Hotspur v Burnley – last five meetings (all competitions):
April 1, 2017 – Premier League
Burnley 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
August 27, 2017 – Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Burnley
December 23, 2017 – Premier League
Burnley 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
December 15, 2018 – Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Burnley
February 23, 2019 – Premier League
Burnley 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Jeevesie’s prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Burnley
