Tottenham will fancy their chances of opening their Premier League campaign with a win against Burnley on Saturday.
Spurs could not have asked for a better fixture to mark their return to competitive domestic action, as they face one of the newly-promoted teams from the Championship.
Thomas Frank will be pleased with how Spurs played in their recent UEFA Super Cup defeat to PSG, and he will surely be hoping to see plenty of the positive elements of that display carried over into their league opener at the weekend.
Frank will step into the home dugout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time in Premier League action, and he will be desperate to get off to a strong start.
Chances of Tottenham win rated ahead of Burnley encounter
There were plenty of positives for Frank to take from the UEFA Super Cup loss to PSG, as his side went toe to toe with one of the world’s most dominant teams over the last 12 months.
MORE SPURS STORIES
The Lilywhites defended resolutely and limited their opponents to relatively few chances, despite their late collapse.
However, Saturday’s game could have a totally different feel to it, with Spurs expected to have the vast majority of the ball against a watertight Burnley side.
Scott Parker’s men shipped a scarcely believable tally of 16 goals across the entire Championship campaign last time out, but they will surely find it difficult to maintain that impressive record in top flight.
The newly-promoted outfit are expected to have little chance of leaving N17 with all three points on Saturday, as Opta’s supercomputer has indicated that Spurs have a 66% chance of winning the game.
Burnley have just a 14% chance of emerging as victors, while the possibility of a draw is also rated at just 19%.
A good start will be vital for Spurs
A strong start to the new campaign will settle the nerves at Tottenham as they move into the Frank era, and the fixture list has handed them the perfect opportunity to get some wins under their belts in the early stages.
The Lilywhites face just one of the fellow ‘big six’ clubs in their opening nine games, and that comes in the form of a trip to face Manchester City, who they have a surprisingly good recent record against.
Elsewhere in the opening few weeks, they face trips to likely strugglers West Ham and Leeds, while also welcoming Wolves to N17.
If Frank’s men can get off to a bright start in their first few matches, memories of last year’s disastrous league campaign will soon be eradicated.