(Football news) The Clarets’ 4-1 loss to Newcastle United has put them in danger of dropping to the Championship, while the Lilywhites’ already slim chances of qualifying for the Champions League were further hurt in their 4-2 loss to Liverpool last time out.
Despite his words were not comforting to the travelling fans who watched Tottenham Hotspurs ship four goals in a horrific hour, Ange Postecoglou saw a more familiar Tottenham side at Anfield over the weekend instead of ranting and raving as he did on the Stamford Bridge touchline during Spurs’ loss to London rivals Chelsea.
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.
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.
Given that the Clarets play Forest on the final weekend and that Kompany’s team has held Chelsea, Manchester United, and West Ham United to draws in their last five away games, Burnley supporters will beg the football gods to grant them such a scenario. However, a well-earned point in North London this weekend will not do.
In addition, Burnley has already lost to Tottenham twice this season—5-2 in the rematch in the Premier League and by a narrow 1-0 margin in the FA Cup in January—and the seemingly doomed Clarets have not defeated Spurs at home in any competition since a 4-1 EFL Cup victory in 1983.
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