Tomorrow afternoon Antonio Conte brings his Spurs side up to Old Trafford as both teams look to gain valuable points in the fight for top four. Here’s what we might expect from this crucial game.
Opposition
Tottenham come into this game with the definition of mixed form. In their last six games across all competitions, they have managed three wins and three losses. Some of those wins have been emphatic, such as the 3-2 win over Manchester City or the recent 5-0 victory over Everton. However, some of those losses have been poor. Such as the 1-0 loss to Burnley or the 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough. Overall, Spurs are having a very mixed season as they sit in seventh in the league.
Conte has tended to favour the 3-4-3 formation when lining up this Spurs side. Starting of course with Hugo Lloris in goal. A back three comprised of Cristian Romero, Eric Dier and Ben Davies. With Matt Doherty and Sergio Reguilón operating as the wing-backs. In the centre of the park we will no doubt see Højbjerg alongside Bentancur. And then a front three of Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski.
Manchester United
The state of Manchester United right now really is a sorry affair. A week after a devastating derby loss and things honestly don’t feel that much better heading into this weekend. Some of the stories that have been leaked surrounding members of the squad make for some upsetting reading. Hearing that the likes of Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo are unhappy with the way things are going isn’t what fans want to be hearing. Frankly we are more upset with the state of our club at this moment in time. And it’s the job of these players to fix that. The sad thing is, that there are a lot of players in this squad who don’t seem up to that. The lack of desire and workrate that we saw towards the end of the City game spoke for itself. Things really do feel flat at the moment and the only hope rests on the Atletico game next week.
Line-up
It’s worth mentioning that there aren’t many players who deserve another start here. But the unfortunate state of things is that we don’t have a whole host of options. I would hope that Ralf Rangnick returns to the 4-3-3 formation here after experimenting last week with playing Pogba and Bruno up top. David de Gea in net is a certainty despite how poor his distribution was last week, he is clearly the number one goalkeeper. At right-back I expect Diogo Dalot to return after Aaron Wan-Bissaka looked pretty awful against City. And the same can be said of left-back, I would like to see Alex Telles start, with Luke Shaw not doing anything lately to show why he deserves to start. As a centre-back pairing I would like to see Raphael Varane with Victor Lindelöf. I think that this is our best partnership. However, I have hesitations as to whether Maguire will be dropped.
In the midfield, I think Scott McTominay will return in the deeper holding role. Despite putting in a poor performance last week I think he is the best option we have despite Matic, who I think should be rested for the Champions League game midweek. And then Bruno and Pogba will no doubt play in the more advanced roles. Again neither had brilliant games against City but this has been arguably our best midfield all season and Ralf should stick with it.
Up top I think it has to be Jadon Sancho. I’ve been saying it a lot lately, but he has been a shining light in a dark time for United. On the other wing, Anthony Elanga should start with Marcus Rashford not playing like he deserves a start. And then up front, I think Cristiano Ronaldo should return. He seems to be back training and fully fit again, so I don’t see a reason why he shouldn’t start. A case could be made for resting him for the Madrid game, but with the ever-absent Edinson Cavani there aren’t really any other options for that number 9 position.
Prediction
I think United fans could be in for another tough afternoon here. Spurs seem to be able to get a decent performance out when they want to, like they did against City. However, what gives us hope is that they are by no means infallible. We can get at this team. I think it’s going to be really tough and tight game. I have this feeling that Harry Kane is going to score. He seems to be having a bit of a resurgence lately, and why would he not get a goal against a very shaky defence. That being said with the pace and creativity of players like Sancho and Elanga I think we can get at this Spurs side. With all that in mind I am going for a rather hopeful 2-1 United win.