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BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson has made a surprise claim about Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat to Burnley on Saturday in his latest set of Premier League predictions ahead of the midweek fixtures.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Spurs’ title chances suffered a massive and perhaps fatal hit as they were beaten 2-1 by the Clarets at the weekend, and they will be looking to return to winning ways when they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.

Lawrenson believes that the encounter between the two London clubs will end in a 1-1 draw, and suggests that the return of Harry Kane from injury at Turf Moor actually hindered Spurs.

The 61-year-old said: “I had predicted a draw, knowing that Harry Kane was coming back. Part of my thinking was that, when a team’s best player is out, you get a little bit extra from all the other players. When he returns, they relax a tiny bit.”

Is he right?

Perhaps a little bit, yes.

There’s good news for fans of City, Liverpool, Spurs and United in the video below…

There will of course be an expectation when Kane is on the pitch that he can find the net because of his record, and that could easily lead to his teammates becoming a little more complacent, as Lawrenson alludes to.

However, you wouldn’t expect that to be the case with experienced players like Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-Min when you are in a title race, and it shouldn’t be used as an excuse.

Those individuals know that they must produce the displays they did in Kane’s absence from here on in if the north London outfit are to have any chance of keeping the pressure up on Liverpool and Manchester City.