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da realsbet： Tottenham Hotspur play host to Burnley in the Premier League at Wembley on Saturday following the jubilation of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League on Tuesday night, after their 1-1 draw with Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
Domestically, Spurs look to be well in the title race as well as they trail leaders Liverpool by just six points following Manchester City’s defeat to Chelsea last weekend, and the Reds play host to Manchester United at Anfield on Saturday which could potentially hand Mauricio Pochettino’s men the opportunity to close the gap even further if they get the three points against the lowly Clarets.
On the chalkboard
Ahead of the visit to Barcelona, Pochettino decided to rest Harry Kane from the starting XI for the trip to Leicester City last weekend, and the risk paid off as Lucas Moura shone up top in his absence with Son Heung-Min and Dele Alli getting on the score-sheet in a 2-0 win.
While the Argentine manager doesn’t seem to have any confidence in Fernando Llorente to start, he appears to be more than happy to start Lucas or Son in place of Kane when needed, and with the former only coming on as a substitute against Barca he should be relatively fresh when Sean Dyche’s men visit north London on Saturday.
Should he take the risk again?
He should, yes.
While it is a risk to leave your main goal threat out in any game, and while some supporters may prefer to leave him out against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup this week instead to boost their Premier League title hopes, Tottenham have the firepower in their squad to get the victory they want on Saturday.
Furthermore, Burnley have only scored six goals and picked up five points in their eight top flight matches on the road so far this term, and should the Clarets keep things tight for the majority of the game then Pochettino would always have the option to bring Kane on to try and get the goal they need.
Spurs have a big opportunity to be well involved in the Premier League title race right now, but ensuring Kane doesn’t burn out must also be a priority and he should be rested for matches like this one.
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