Nuno previews Burnley in the Carabao Cup

Nuno Espirito Santo has branded the Carabao Cup “an important competition for us” and sees Wednesday’s fourth-round tie at Burnley as a chance for the team to improve on the pitch.

Following back-to-back 1-0 defeats away to Vitesse and West Ham, we head to Turf Moor looking to return to winning ways and book a spot in the competition’s last eight (kick-off 7.45pm UK).

Burnley are winless in the Premier League after nine games but have already dumped top-flight opposition out of the Carabao Cup after beating Newcastle United on penalties before thumping League Two Rochdale 4-1 in the third round last month.

Nuno knows the importance of staying in the hat as the competition heads towards its latter stages, but also sees the game as a useful test for the players as we look to rediscover that winning formula.

“It’s going to be a tough match like we expect because Burnley is a good team but it’s a good chance for us to improve, knowing that the Carabao Cup is an important competition for us,” he told us at Hotspur Way today (Tuesday).

“We have to go game-by-game and then this game is a final. It’s a chance for us to improve our game, to compete well knowing that we have to manage some situations. We have players who need minutes, who deserve minutes, but it’s up to us to manage the situation of the players because what we want is to build a competitive team.

“Focusing only on the match tomorrow, we’re going to face a tough opponent, we know their characteristics – they are very physical, set pieces, aggressive – but at the same time I think we are improving our game. The possession has been much better, the dynamics have been much better but they are details that we only can achieve during the competition, so that’s why I tell you it’s very important for us to improve in the match, doing the things that we want, the things that we prepare and putting it on the pitch.”