Tottenham Hotspur resume their Premier League title quest following a two-week break with a trip to Burnley on Saturday lunchtime.
The Lilywhites beat Leicester City 3-1 in their most recent top-flight outing on February 10 and are within five points of the summit.
Burnley
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Following a poor first half to the season that saw them lose 13 and draw three of their opening 19 matches, culminating in a 5-1 defeat at home to Everton on Boxing Day, Burnley have since collected 15 points from a possible 21.
The Clarets were left in the relegation zone, three points from safety, following that home thumping by Everton. Boss Sean Dyche would go on to talk of the "fine margins" at the bottom, and so it has proved as his side are now up to 15th and have a three-point gap on Southampton in 17th.
During their seven-match unbeaten run - their longest streak without defeat in the top flight since May-September 1966 - Burnley have defeated West Ham United, Huddersfield Town, Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion, while also taking points off Watford, Manchester United and Southampton.
Dyche will feel that his side could have claimed even more points over the past two months if not for some questionable refereeing decisions, but he can certainly have no complaints about the character shown by his players to propel themselves up the table.
Only Man United have gone more games without defeat than Burnley since Christmas, but this visit of Tottenham presents a very difficult test for the Clarets. Since beating Liverpool in August 2016, Burnley have only taken two points from their last 42 available at home against 'big six' opponents in the Premier League.
They have failed to keep a clean sheet during that run, conceding 27 goals and netting just six in return. With a trip to Liverpool also on the horizon, Dyche will be looking to add a bonus point or two to the board to strengthen his side's survival hopes.
Burnley's return to their form of 2017-18 has coincided with Tom Heaton's inclusion in the starting lineup, with the England international boasting the best saves-to-shots ratio in the division (80%).
Only two sides have shipped more goals than the Clarets this season, however, so Heaton will have to be on top of his game this weekend if the Lancashire outfit are to remain above the relegation zone for another few days.
Recent form in Premier League: WWDDDW
Recent form (all competitions): WDLDDW
Tottenham Hotspur
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Tottenham make the trip to Lancashire on the back of a four-match winning run and feeling fully rested after playing just once over the past fortnight - a 3-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on February 13.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have also defeated Watford, Newcastle United and Leicester during this ongoing winning streak, scoring late goals in the first two of those matches to remain within touching distance of Manchester City and Liverpool.
That is not to say 2019 has been entirely positive, though, as the Lilywhites crashed out of both domestic cup competitions - to Chelsea in the EFL Cup and Crystal Palace in the FA Cup - in the space of a few days last month.
Those losses coincided with the loss of Harry Kane and Dele Alli to injury, though the former has returned to training this week and is in contention to play a part at Turf Moor.
Spurs have done well to fill the void left by their attacking duo, especially top scorer Kane, in the Premier League. That is largely thanks to the form of Son Heung-min, who has scored eight goals in his last eight top-flight appearances, netting in each of his last three in a row.
Fernando Llorente also deserves credit for chipping in with a few goals when called upon, and now Pochettino has the luxury of welcoming back some key players for the run-in. As well as challenging for the title, Spurs are also on the verge of reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League, which will push their thin squad to the limit.
Before travelling to Dortmund for the second leg of their European tie, Spurs first have the small matter of back-to-back London derbies against Chelsea and Arsenal to prepare for. Victory over Burnley this weekend to make it five victories out of five would provide them with some real momentum ahead of that tough double-header.
You would not bet against Pochettino's men coming away with all three points on Saturday, either, as they have won 11 Premier League away games this season - already their most in a single campaign in the competition. They last won more on the road in a single league season in 1984-85 (12).
Tottenham have also scored a league-high 12 Premier League goals from outside the area this season, while Burnley have conceded the most in this fashion so far (12), and they have only failed to net in two of their league matches all term.
Recent form in Premier League: WLWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): LLWWWW
Team News
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Even with a week's training under his belt, Kane is unlikely to play anything more than a back-up role in Lancashire. Pochettino is therefore expected to stick with Llorente and Son up top, as was the case against Leicester a fortnight ago.
Ben Davies and Eric Dier are two others pushing for recalls to the squad after recovering from injury, with the latter in line for a place in the starting lineup.
The long rest period between games has also given Danny Rose a chance to return to full fitness, so Jan Vertonghen can return to his favoured centre-back position alongside Toby Alderweireld.
In terms of the home side, Dyche remains without the trio of Jonathan Walters, Aaron Lennon and Steven Defour.
Matthew Lowton is in contention to replace Phil Bardsley at right-back should Dyche wish to change things around slightly, but it is unlikely that he will alter a winning formula.
Striker Ashley Barnes has scored in each of his last three Premier League appearances, including from the penalty spot in his last two. Only five players have ever scored a penalty in three consecutive Premier League games before, with Sergio Aguero in November 2017 the most recent.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Heaton; Bardsley, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Hendrick, Westwood, Cork, McNeil; Barnes, Wood
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Sissoko, Dier, Winks; Eriksen; Son, Llorente
Head To Head
Burnley are winless in their last seven Premier League meetings with Tottenham since a 4-2 victory on the final day of the 2009-10 season.
The Lilywhites have kept a clean sheet on each of their last three visits to Turf Moor in the top flight, winning twice and drawing once.
December's reverse fixture at Wembley Stadium finished 1-0 to Spurs thanks to a strike from Eriksen in the final minute of the game.
We say: Burnley 0-2 Tottenham
Burnley are on a good run of form, but so to are Tottenham and they head into this game as strong favourites to keep their momentum going. Spurs can increase the pressure on Man City, who have played a game more than them, and Liverpool, who have a difficult trip to Man United to prepare for on Sunday, with all three points. Any other outcome would be a real surprise.
Daniel Lewis
