Both Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley could be condemned to unwanted Premier League fates should they fall to defeat in Saturday's showdown at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Lilywhites' wafer-thin Champions League chances were damaged further in a 4-2 beating at the hands of Liverpool last time out, while the Clarets are on the verge of the drop thanks to their 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United.
Match preview
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Rather than ranting and raving in the same manner that he did on the Stamford Bridge touchline during Spurs' loss to London rivals Chelsea, Ange Postecoglou saw a more familiar Tottenham side at Anfield at the weekend, although his words came of little comfort to the travelling fans who witnessed the Lilywhites ship four goals in a horror hour.
Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott all contributed to the rout before Richarlison and Son Heung-min made the ending far nervier than it should have been for the hosts, but just like their North London derby loss to Arsenal, their fightback was incredibly short-lived.
Now reeling from a four-game losing run in the top flight - not since November 2004 (six defeats on the bounce) have they endured a worse sequence - fifth-placed Tottenham will officially be out of Champions League contention if their dismal streak stretches to five this weekend, although Aston Villa's loss to Brighton & Hove Albion means that all is not said and done just yet.
Even a perfect run against Burnley, Manchester City and Sheffield United would be rendered meaningless if Villa win just one of their final two Premier League fixtures of 2023-24, so Thursday Europa League nights are the most realistic aspirations for Postecoglou's under-performing squad as the campaign draws to a close.
Each of Spurs' last four defeats has also seen the North London titans concede multiple goals, and both teams have scored in the hosts' last 13 Premier League games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, offering Burnley a crumb of comfort in their otherwise futile fight against the drop.
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Turf Moor trouncings have been nothing new for Burnley since their swift return to the big time, and a rampant Newcastle were the latest side to condemn Vincent Kompany's crop to a humbling home loss last weekend, where the Magpies coincidentally went 4-0 up in rapid time.
Alexander Isak, Sean Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes and Callum Wilson all breached the net of Arijanet Muric - who also saved a penalty from the former - before Dara O'Shea gave the Lancashire faithful something to cheer, but just like Son and Richarlison, his effort meant little in the grand scheme of things.
Five points adrift of safety with only six left to fight for, Burnley's relegation back down to the second tier will be confirmed if they lose on Saturday, and the only circumstances that would see them take the fight to the final day is if they win and Nottingham Forest fail to beat Chelsea, although they realistically need a Blues success given Forest's superior goal difference.
Burnley fans will pray for the footballing gods to bless them with such a scenario given that the Clarets face Forest on the final weekend, and Kompany's side have held Chelsea, Manchester United and West Ham United to draws in their last five away matches, but a hard-earned point in North London will not suffice this weekend.
Furthermore, Burnley have already come up short twice against Tottenham this season, being battered 5-2 in the reverse Premier League fixture before January's slender 1-0 FA Cup defeat, and not since a 4-1 EFL Cup success in 1983 have the ostensibly doomed Clarets beat Spurs on their own territory in any competition.
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A sextet of Spurs players nursing season-ending injuries in Timo Werner (hamstring), Ben Davies (calf), Manor Solomon (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Fraser Forster (ankle) and Destiny Udogie (thigh) are still missing, but the hosts have no fresh concerns to report from their unsuccessful trip to Merseyside.
However, Emerson Royal - deputising at left-back once again - was run ragged by Salah throughout the 90 minutes and was also spotted arguing with Cristian Romero at half time, forcing Guglielmo Vicario to step in and drag the aggrieved Argentine away.
Postecoglou played down the fracas and has not suggested that he will be dropping Emerson any time soon, though, despite Spurs fans pleading for Micky van de Ven to come in at left-back and Radu Dragusin to earn a rare opportunity in the heart of defence.
Meanwhile, a forgettable afternoon for Burnley centre-back Maxime Esteve last weekend saw the Montpellier HSC loanee booked before being withdrawn in first-half injury time due to illness, but he has since recovered and is expected to start this one.
Aaron Ramsey (knee), Jordan Beyer (thigh), Nathan Redmond (thigh) and Ameen Al-Dakhil (unspecified) are all out for the season, and this game will also come too soon for tricky winger Luca Koleosho, also nursing his own severe knee problem.
Should Esteve not be risked, Hjalmar Ekdal - who has faced his own injury setbacks this season - is the only natural candidate to replace him, while Zeki Amdouni and David Datro Fofana were both restricted to substitute outings last time out but will scrap it out to potentially replace Lyle Foster in the number nine spot.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Emerson; Bentancur, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Richarlison
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Muric; Assignon, O'Shea, Esteve, Vitinho; Gudmundsson, Cullen, Berge, Brownhill, Odobert; Amdouni
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Burnley
Tottenham playing at home almost always means goals at both ends of the field, but the Burnley box will certainly come under siege on more occasions than Vicario's penalty area, and the Clarets should therefore be condemned to their fate.
While Tottenham face an anxious wait to learn whether their efforts will be enough to prolong the Champions League fight, Postecoglou's side should pull themselves out of their rut without too much trouble and ensure that Burnley will be playing Championship football for 2024-25.
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Ben Knapton
