Rob Daly, official club commentator, presenter and pundit, will once again offer his expert analysis ahead of every game this season - and here we go with our Premier League opener against Burnley at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday (3pm).
Burnley 24/25 - 46 games, 16 goals conceded
Burnley were the best defensive team in the Championship last season, and their record of conceding 16 goals in 46 games is, frankly, unbelievable. That helped them to 100 points, and they only lost two league games all season. So, huge credit to Scott Parker. Thinking back to the way his Bournemouth team played in 2022/23 and whether they were a little too open - remember, he lost his job pretty soon after a 9-0 defeat against Liverpool - I think he will be even more conservative with Burnley in the Premier League. Interestingly, he trialled five at the back in the last friendly against Lazio - that defensive record last season was built on four at the back.
Trafford central
James Trafford was also a big part of Burnley's incredible defensive record in the Championship. Indeed, the goalkeeper helped them massively over perform in terms of goals conceded. Their XG for goals against was 28, 29 last season - they actually conceded 16, because he was so good. So, he's a loss - he's returned to Manchester City - but they've signed a couple of new goalkeepers, including Martin Dúbravka from Newcastle United.
Familiar faces return
As well as Parker (our former captain who made 63 appearances for us, 2011-13), Burnley have made a number of new signings - including Kyle Walker (227 appearances for us, 2010-17) and our former Academy graduate, Marcus Edwards. Burnley have also signed striker Armando Broja from Chelsea, but they've lost goals as well - Josh Brownhill (end of contract) scored 18 goals from midfield last season. Yes, he was on penalties, but he only scored a handful of those, so he's a big loss in terms of the output in front of goal. Look out for Luca Koleosho, a brilliant, tricky winger.
Thomas Frank's pre-season tactics
In pre-season, Spurs mainly played in a 4-2-3-1 - as one full-back would be encouraged to get high, allowing the winger on that side to tuck in. We saw Destiny Udogie and Mikey Moore do this against Reading. In that instance, the other full-back, Pedro Porro, stayed back with Danso and Romero to form a back three to start attacks - meaning Brennan Johnson on the right could stay tight to the touchline. However, Spurs weren’t wed to this - as sometimes Rodrigo Bentancur would slot in with the two centre-backs to build play.
Sarr man
In this formation, Pape Matar Sarr has perhaps best shone as the number 10. “I think Pape has been amazing,” said Frank after the midfielder’s halfway line effort against Arsenal - his third strike of pre-season.
He started the Europa League final in that position having not only assisted Johnson’s Bilbao goal, but having won the ball high up the pitch to get the attack going. He’s been doing that throughout July and August too and, with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski injured, Sarr should be vital.
Different challenges
I think we're all expecting an extremely competitive Burnley team, difficult to break down. As Thomas Frank alluded to in his press conference, it's a very different prospect to what we saw on Wednesday night against PSG in terms of tactics. The challenge for Spurs, especially with players like James Madison and Dejan Kulusevski out injured at the moment - players who may well have occupied that number 10 position - is finding a way through an away a team that will come to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium knowing that a point would be an excellent result on opening weekend.