Tottenham’s attack is stuttering — and a second successive blank has set alarm bells ringing in North London. 

Spurs have now failed to find the net in defeats to Vitesse and West Ham, managing just 13 shots and five efforts on target across those matches. 

Along with Brighton, they are the only team in the top 10 not to be in double figures for Premier League goals this season. 

Ahead of the Carabao Cup clash at Burnley tonight, we examine how Nuno Espirito Santo can get his team firing again.

Controlling the game

In the past, you would look at possession and shots to discover the story of a game — but those two metrics do not give the full picture.

Elite teams now often forfeit possession to dominate space. They play on the break and only need a handful of chances to punish a team. 

It is a game plan that is extremely difficult to stop when executed correctly. 

That is why Nuno’s post-match interview after Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat at West Ham last Sunday should be taken with a pinch of salt. 

He said: "We were the better team, honestly. I think we controlled the game, we had chances. We had possession. 

"West Ham are a good team but they only created chances on counter-attacks and set-pieces. We played better but this is football."

Spurs finished the match with an expected goals (xG) total of 0.63. West Ham, on the other hand, racked up an impressive 1.42. 

The away side had more of the ball — finishing with 62.3% possession — but did not do much with it. 

Nuno, 47, seemingly needs to accept that ball retention does not equate to being the better side.

Back to basics

Tottenham rank 19th for shots and chances created per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season. 

Only Norwich, rooted to the bottom of the table, are blunter than the North Londoners. 

Despite possessing an abundance of attacking talent, Nuno has yet to find a way to make it click. 

Spurs’ expected points (xP) of just 9.68 even suggests they belong in the bottom third of the table. 

Fortunately, they already have points on the board — but the team’s luck cannot carry on forever. 

As simple as it sounds, Tottenham need to start shooting more. Ultimately, any team will struggle to score if they are attempting just 10.44 efforts at goal per 90 minutes of action.

Picking your moment

Tottenham’s shot map (above) does not make for enjoyable reading. 

For starters, they are not getting many of their shots on target — but perhaps the bigger concern is just how many attempts appear to be from distance. 

That is often a sign of frustration and it can occasionally highlight a team has run out of ideas. Whatever the case, a little more patience could see Spurs work the ball five yards closer to goal before shooting. 

If Tottenham want to score more goals, they need to make smarter decisions in and around the penalty area.

The Kane factor

Harry Kane is one of the best forwards in Europe and he will go down as one of the greatest in Premier League history. 

This is what makes Nuno’s use of him even more confusing.

When looking at Tottenham’s passing network for their Premier League campaign to date, as highlighted above, you can see there are a lot of passes between the centre-backs and the midfielders — but Kane is isolated and barely involved. 

The England captain is at his best when he used as a team’s focal point. 

At Tottenham, he has been feeding off scraps.

Kane, 28, has netted just one Premier League goal this term and if Spurs are to improve their forward play, they are going to need to build their attack around the wantaway striker.

Big club mentality

Nuno performed well with Wolves when expectations were not a burden. 

Nobody expected the men from Molineux to finish seventh on their return to the Premier League, while even fewer thought they would repeat the trick the following season. 

He was free to defy the odds — but at Spurs the pressure is on. 

They are supposed to dominate teams with a distinct brand of football that befits a team of their status. 

What worked for Wolves is not going to work for Tottenham and the Portuguese tactician needs to adapt. He is at a big club and needs to start producing big results.