Manchester United will make the trip to the capital on Sunday afternoon as they take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League encounter. Both sides would have expected to be having better seasons but a combination of poor performances, results and injuries has seen them languishing in the bottom half of the table. United come into this game off the back of their FA Cup victory over Leicester City whilst Spurs exited the competition at the hands of Aston Villa.
United left it late at Old Trafford when Harry Maguire’s last minute contentious header saw them progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup. The defender rose highest to meet Bruno Fernandes’s free kick to secure a 2-1 win over the Foxes. However, if VAR had been available, the goal would have been ruled out for offside which had been missed by the on field linesman. Whilst Leicester City manager, Ruud Van Nistelrooy felt aggrieved by what had happened, the United faithful were just happy to see the victory, which was their sixth from their last eight games across all competitions.
Our last league outing saw a miserable time at Old Trafford for the Red Devils when we lost 2-0 to Crystal Palace. It was our seventh defeat in our last eleven Premier League games. Tottenham have secured two victories over United already this season. Back in Decemer, we had lost 4-3 in an entertaining game of the EFL Cup quarter final. Spurs had gotten the better of us early on in the season with a 3-0 victory at home and they could do the double over us for the first time in Premier League history.
Manchester United Team News
For United, it has been reported that Amad Diallo has suffered ankle ligament damage in training and potentially could miss the rest of the season. He is still currently being assessed but is facing a lengthy layoff. Midfield trio Collyer, Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo have all been ruled out with injuries too.
We are without defender Lisandro Martinez for the foreseeable future after suffering an ACL injury during our last Premier League game against Crystal Palace. The Argentine has since had surgery and is now beginning his rehabilitation.
Luke Shaw (calf), Mason Mount (thigh), Jonny Evans (back), Tom Heaton (unspecified) and Altay Bayindir (unspecified) will miss the trip to North London. Ruben Amorim did reveal in his pre-match press conference that he had one or two issues without giving the names of those players.
Last weekend saw the debut of Patrick Dorgu in our last minute win over Leicester City in the FA Cup where he was deployed on the right hand side before being replaced at half time with Alejando Garnacho, and will surely be given a start after an impressive 45 minutes.
Manchester United predicted Lineup
Onana;
De Ligt, Maguire, Yoro;
Mazraoui, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dalot;
Garnacho, Hojlund; Zirkzee
Opposition Preview
Looking back towards the start of the season where an upbeat Ange Postecoglou had said he “always” wins trophies in his second year in a job, which was a bold statement but was backed up with his managerial history. However, things can easily change in football and the last week or so has seen Tottenham bow out of two domestic cup competitions. Firstly, they collapse at Anfield to exit the EFL Cup at the hands of Liverpool at the semi-final stage. This was then followed by a fourth round exit in the FA Cup away to Aston Villa.
Silverware could still be on the cards for the first time since 2008 as Spurs still remain in the Europa League having reached the knockout stages. They snapped their poor Premier League form with an away win at Brentford last time out. The North Londout outfit had been on a four game losing streak and a seven-game winless before a Vitaly Janelt own goal and a Pape Matar Sarr giving them the three points at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Tottenham’s home form does not look much better having failed to win on their own soil in the last three months of the Premier League. The record has been drawn two and lost five in front of their own fans despite scoring in each of those games. However, Ange Postecoglou’s record against Manchester United is excellent in the league and could be only the fourth manager after Unai Emery, Ruud Gullit and Nuno Espirito Santo to go unbeaten in his first four games against the Red Devils.
Tottenham Team News
The opposition has not seen a full strength squad for the last several weeks due to mounting injuries to a number of first team players. However, this weekend could see maybe at least four players return for the visit of Manchester United. Ange Postecoglou had confirmed on Friday that Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie are set for their first start of this year. James Maddison and Brennan Johnson could feature too after recovering from calf problems, while Wilson Odobert and Timo Werner are back in training, their return to the match day aquad may to wait a little longer.
Micky van de Ven (thigh), Cristian Romero (thigh), Dominic Solanke (knee) and Richarlison (calf) remain in the treatment room. Just like Lisandro Martinez, Radu Dragusin has also underwent surgery for an ACL injury that has ruled him out for the rest of the season.
Form Guide
Manchester United Premier League form: DWLWL
Manchester United form (all competitions): WWWLW
Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form: LLLLW
Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions): LWWLL
Prediction
If this game is anything like the one we saw in the EFL Cup quarter final back in December, then it would be good from the neutral prospective. Both sides will be seeking the win as we look to climb out from the bottom half of the table. Whilst United have just been papering over the cracks lately, it is an away from home that the team seems to play better than at Old Trafford. United and Spurs have their defensive frailities so we could see goals at either end of the pitch.
Tottenham 2-3 Manchester United