Games are coming thick and fast for Erik Ten Hag as Manchester United host Tottenham at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening.
Eriksen must start
On Sunday the Red Devils could only manage a 0-0 draw at home to Newcastle United. Whilst there were a lot of chances created and finishing was definitely a problem, one of the major concerns was the absence of Christian Eriksen.
The Danish midfielder has been crucial to the majority of United’s performances and results that we have seen so far this season. His incisive passing and composure on the ball is something this midfield has been in dire need of for some time now.
Against Newcastle we simply did not see any of that with Fred starting in his place. And against a tougher opposition in Spurs we may only get a small number of chances so we simply cannot afford to be wasteful in possession.
Ten Hag confirmed that Eriksen will be in contention to start but did not sound overly confident.
“Eriksen returned in the team training today and we have to see how that works out, how he will recover, if he has the energy tomorrow, so we have to wait for that.”
Ten Hag on Eriksen’s fitness
Line-up
The defensive line has actually looked relatively stable of late. Even Luke Shaw coming back into the side seems to have stepped his game up, although we will have to wait and see how long that lasts. Casemiro looks solid and the partnership of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez continues to impress.
Ten Hag also confirmed that Anthony Martial is not match-fit and so will not feature here, meaning Cristiano Ronaldo is likely to start through the middle, although he could opt for Marcus Rashford in the centre-forward position looking to utilise his pace and break on the counter.
With that in mind here is how we expect United to line-up:
David de Gea; Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Diogo Dalot; Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes; Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo, Antony
Opposition
Antonio Conte’s side come into this game with good form, having four wins in their last six in all competitions. They are currently third in the league, level on points with Manchester City separated only by goal difference. Since Conte has come in Spurs have looked a step-up from where they previously were and no doubt will finish in the top four come the end of the season.
Here is how we expect Conte to line-up:
Hugo Lloris; Christian Romero, Eric Dier, Clement Lenglet; Matt Doherty, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg,Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ivan Perisic; Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min
Prediction
This is going to be a really tough game. Spurs are in excellent form and United haven’t looked all that convincing of late, particularly in the final third. Hopefully Rashford can be at his best, put last weekend behind him and get himself on the scoresheet. With that in mind we’re going for a 2-1 United win.