Tottenham hope to close gap on top two at Turf Moor

Saturday’s game against Burnley presents a huge chance for Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham to reduce their deficit on Liverpool and Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League.

The Lilywhites have had a rare rest before the game having not been involved in FA Cup action and face a Burnley test that looks more comfortable than Liverpool’s trip to Manchester United. Although Pochettino will be acutely aware of the unbeaten run Sean Dyche has put together with the Lancashire team.

The tough fixture for the Reds along with City facing Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final means Tottenham can enhance their title credentials should they collect three points.

A win wouldn’t see them move from their third position, but it would see Spurs almost cement their place in the Champions League for next season – a baseline expectation for them with the move to their new stadium imminent. Their last game came in the Champions League as a superb second half performance put Borussia Dortmund to the sword in a 3-0 triumph in their round of 16 first-leg.

Dyche’s Burnley will hope to extend their current seven-game unbeaten run. They were two minutes away from condemning Tottenham to their first draw of the season in the reserve fixture in December, the north London club now holding the record for most games without a draw from the start of a Premier League season (26).

Only Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United are on a longer unbeaten streak than the Clarets, and in Ashley Barnes they have a striker who has scored in his last three Premier League games. Despite the form of Burnley’s Austrian frontman it’s their opposition striker that will draw the most attention.

Tottenham marksman Harry Kane may return for Saturday’s fixture. England’s captain has been out with an ankle injury since defeat to Manchester United in January but has worked hard on his recovery to be ready to contribute to Spurs’ Premier League and Champions League campaigns.

Tottenham could also see Ben Davies return from injury although Danny Rose (illness) is unlikely to feature whilst Dele Alli (hamstring) is still expected to be out for at least another week.

The returns of Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Robbie Brady will boost the Clarets chances of a positive result but Dyche does still remain without Steven Defour (calf), Aaron Lennon (knee) and Jonathan Walters (achilles).

Burnley are winless in seven against Spurs and have only taken a possible two points out of 42 at home against the ‘big six’. Therefore, Tottenham are massive favourites for the tie as they look for their 12th away win of the season.

Pochettino will be desperate to secure a positive result ahead of a huge clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Wednesday.