Burnley vs Tottenham Hotspur
Spectator Tips
Competition time: 03:30 on Thursday, February 24
Chinese Commentary: Wang Zhengkun, Tang Xianbo
Pre-match movements
Spurs will be away to Burnley in a 13th round of the Premier League this week – Conte's side had a bitter taste of three consecutive defeats during rounds 23 to 25 of the league, first in a 2-0 away defeat to Chelsea in a focus battle, and was broken from conte's unbeaten share of the Premier League since taking office, followed by Southampton and Wolves this month. However, in another league showdown last weekend, with Harry Kane's two-way goal, Son Heung-min's two-way assist and winter window new signing Kulusevsky's pass and shot, Spurs overthrew the leader Manchester City 3-2 away from home in an unsatisfactory situation, and at the same time ended Manchester City's previous 15 league games with 14 wins and 1 draw, and entered 2022, which is an impressive record of 7 wins in all competitions.
As of now, Spurs are still in 8th place with 39 points in 23 wins, 12 wins, 3 draws and 8 losses, but they are only one point behind Wolves in front of them under the premise of less than one round, and only 3 points behind The 5th Place West Ham United in the case of three rounds of less, rekindling the hope of competing for a European place. It is worth mentioning that although the club purged Ali, Ndombele, Lo Celso and Brian Hill, who were depressed in the squad in the form of permanent transfers and loans in the winter window, they only signed Two new signings from Juventus, Bentankur and Kulusevsky, and were considered to have very limited reinforcements in terms of immediate combat strength; however, at least from the 3-2 victory over Manchester City, Bentankur provided significantly stronger defensive coverage than Winks on the bench. His presence was better able to form rotations with Heiber and Skip, while Kulusevsky proved his potential with excellent performance.
Tottenham Hotspur opponents Burnley are currently mired in relegation, and they are in the bottom 2 of the table with 22 wins, 11 draws and 9 defeats, accumulating 17 points, making them the team with the fewest wins in the Premier League this season. For three and a half months since November 2021, the team has not won for three and a half months (12 wins, 7 draws and 5 defeats in all competitions), until last weekend when they beat Brighton 3-0 away in the league to end the invincibility.
In the last 12 meetings between the two teams, Spurs have an absolute advantage with eight wins, three draws and one loss, and the two sides have met in the fourth round of the League Cup this season, when Spurs won 1-0 with Lucas Mora's head hammer to defeat Burnley.
Injury updates
In Tottenham's squad, Dale has recovered from a muscle injury and played in the last round against Manchester City, but Tanganga is still hanging up the card for exemption due to a knee injury, midfielder Skip has not yet recovered from a groin injury, and Reguilon has to be isolated due to a confirmed infection with the new crown.
Burnley's two main players in midfield, Tarkovsky and Westwood, were both suspended for accumulating yellow cards in this round, Taylor has just resumed training, Ashley Barnes is still injured, Goodmondsson has missed recent games due to appendicitis, and Vidra needs a certain recovery period due to hernia surgery.
Predict the first launch
Tottenham Hotspur (3-4-3): Lowry/Ben Davies, Dale, Christian Romero/Ryan Seynion, Heybel, Bentancourt, Emerson Aparecido/Son Heung-min, Harry Kane, Lucas Mora
Burnley (4-4-2): Pope/Peters, Benjamin Mi, Nathan Collins, Lowton/McNeill, Brown Hill, Jack Cork, Lennon/Wegghorst, Corne
Liverpool v Leeds United
Competition time: 03:45 on Thursday, February 24
Chinese Commentary: Yu Xinmiao, Ke Han
In the early hours of tomorrow morning, Liverpool will sit at Anfield stadium against Leeds United in a make-up match in the 19th round of the Premier League.
After entering 2022, Liverpool has become popular across the board, with no defeat in eleven games, and the last eight have maintained all wins. In the list of teams that were cut down by Liverpool, there are many strong teams such as Arsenal and Inter Milan.
Liverpool are currently in the second place in the league with 17 wins, 6 draws and 2 losses, and due to Manchester City's upset by Tottenham Hotspur, their gap from the top of the table has been narrowed to 6 points, and there is still a possibility of winning the title. Statistically, Liverpool have the strongest firepower in the UK, averaging more than 2.5 goals per game this season, and three of the top four goalscorers are from the Reds (including the tie). Salah, who scored 17 goals and 9 assists in 23 games, is the only player in the Premier League and the attacker Klopp relies on the most. Diogo Jota came in second with 12 goals, and he carried Liverpool's attacking flag during the Africa Cup of Nations, allowing the team to avoid a dud. In addition, Mane, Firmino, Takumi Minamino and others all have good scoring ability, and multi-point blossoming is bound to bring great pressure to Liverpool's opponents when defending.
Looking to the defensive end, conceding 20 goals in 25 games is also a top Premier League. There is Van Dijk in the middle, and Alexander Arnold and Robertson flying on both wings, perfectly interpreting what is meant by "attacking and defending". How to break such a defensive line is something that every team that takes on Liverpool needs to consider.
If liverpool's shortcomings are presumably physical problems brought about by the intensive schedule. Liverpool have played five games in 12 days since their game against Leicester City on 11 February. In last weekend's league game, Liverpool came 3-1 to beat Norwich in a 3-1 comeback.
Turning their attention to the away side, Leeds United had won 5 wins, 8 draws and 11 defeats as of the last round, temporarily ranking 15th in the league, 5 points higher than the relegation zone, and the relegation situation was not secure. Unlike Liverpool, Leeds United have won fewer and lost more after New Year's Eve, and have lost 3 of their last 4 games, which is not in good shape. Leeds United have conceded as many as 50 goals in the 23 league rounds that have been played, leaving them less optimistic when meeting Liverpool's attacking group.
Although the results were not satisfactory, leeds United's performance in the game was still remarkable. In the last round against Manchester United, Leeds United scored two goals in two minutes and did not fall behind for a while. Further ahead, Leeds United has also staged good plays such as letting three chases and two draws with Aston Villa, and killing West Ham United away, and its players such as Rafinha and Daniel James have a battle.
Throughout the history of the two sides, Liverpool is undoubtedly the dominant side. Since 2010, the two teams have faced each other four times in the league and the League Cup, with Liverpool winning 3 and drawing 1, including a 4-3 opener last season and a bloodless 3-0 in the first meeting of the season. Leeds United last took all three points from Liverpool in the distant 2000-01 season, when they also won 2-1 away from home.
For Liverpool, two front-liners Firmino and Diogo Jota are sidelined due to injury. The former felt muscular discomfort after the midweek match against Inter and hung up the free card for the game; the latter was missed due to an ankle injury.
For Leeds United, defender Koch had a concussion after hitting his head in the last round and needed further examination. Striker Bamford, back-back Calvin Phillips and captain Cooper have all been plagued by hamstring injuries, with Bielsa saying the latter two are expected to wait until March to return. Faced with a series of strong opponents in a camp full of injuries and illnesses, Leeds United are in a very difficult position.
Expected launch
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson Becker/Robertson, Van Dijk, Matip, Alexander Arnold/Thiago, Fabinho, Nabi Keita/Luis Dias, Mane, Salah
Leeds United (4-2-3-1): Melier/Filebo, Streuik, Diego Llorente, Erin/Dallas, Foshore/Jack Harrison, Rodrigo, Rafinha/Daniel James