Having made differing starts to their Europa League journeys, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur now prepare to lock horns in Sunday’s Premier League blockbuster at Old Trafford.
The pressure continues to pile on Erik ten Hag‘s shoulders following the hosts’ 1-1 draw with FC Twente, while 10-man Spurs put three past Qarabag without reply on Thursday evening.
Match preview
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Man United midfielder Christian Eriksen made on and off-field headlines during the Red Devils’ Europa League opener with Twente, firstly opening his side’s continental account for the season with a 20-yard rocket, before conceding that the visitors to Old Trafford “wanted” victory more than Ten Hag’s team in a highly worrying admission.
Eriksen’s thunderbolt preceded a 68th-minute equaliser from Sam Lammers as Man United were condemned to successive underwhelming stalemates following last weekend’s goalless affair with Crystal Palace, where Dean Henderson and Andre Onana were the only players to truly do themselves justice.
Whether the INEOS regime finally bite the bullet and give Ten Hag the boot in the coming weeks only time will tell, but the Dutchman has hardly justified Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s decision to stick rather than twist over the summer, as his side sit in the bottom half of the standings after five games.
It is not all doom and gloom in Manchester, though, as the 1-1 with Twente did see the Red Devils extend their unbeaten sequence to four matches, but only Southampton have under-performed their Expected Goals (xG) total more than Ten Hag’s wasteful unit this season.
Indeed, Man United have found the net five times from an xG of 9.6 – the third-highest figure in the top flight – and Ten Hag’s men could do with taking a leaf out of Tottenham’s attacking playbook after Ange Postecoglou‘s men rediscovered their attacking mojo again.
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Creativity was in extremely short supply for Spurs only a couple of weeks ago, but Postecoglou’s crop have reverted to type in the final third with eight goals in their last three games, hitting both Brentford and Qarabag for three in the top flight and Europa League.
After emulating Manchester City against Brentford, coming from behind to prevail after conceding in the opening 30 seconds, Tottenham’s continental opener with Qarabag had the potential to be a banana skin thanks to Radu Dragusin‘s early sending-off, only for the Azerbaijani side to miss gilt-edged chance after gilt-edged chance.
Spurs punished their visitors for their wastefulness in the delayed kickoff through Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr and Dominic Solanke to get their European campaign off to a flyer, and that three-goal success also marked a third successive victory for Postecoglou’s revitalised troops.
The Tottenham faithful could be forgiven for dreading away days, though, as their side have only triumphed in two of their last 12 Premier League matches on the road while losing four of their last six, only defeating relegated Sheffield United during that dismal spell.
However, the North London giants managed to steal a point off of Man United at Old Trafford in last season’s 2-2 thriller, extending their unbeaten record against the Red Devils to three top-flight matches, and the Theatre of Dreams is certainly no longer the feared fortress it once was.
Manchester United Premier League form:
Manchester United form (all competitions):
Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:
Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):
Team News
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Immediately after the stalemate with Twente, Ten Hag confirmed that he expects to have an identical squad available for the visit of Tottenham, with all of Leny Yoro (foot), Tyrell Malacia (knee), Victor Lindelof (toe) and Luke Shaw (calf) missing out once more.
The Dutchman should not shy away from a couple of alterations for the visit of Spurs, as a recall for Kobbie Mainoo in the middle is certainly in order, meaning that Manuel Ugarte could make way as he awaits his full Premier League debut.
Alejandro Garnacho ought to force his way back into the starting lineup too, although whether he replaces Marcus Rashford or Amad Diallo is anybody’s guess.
Speaking of attacking uncertainties, Tottenham suffered an alarming scare over captain Son Heung-min during the win over Qarabag on Thursday night, although Postecoglou stressed after the game that he does not believe the South Korean is nursing a serious problem.
No player has created more chances from open play than Son (13) in the 2024-25 Premier League season, and the Spurs skipper should be given the all-clear to face Man United, whom he also boasts four goals and one assist against from his last seven appearances.
Dragusin’s red card and subsequent suspension only applies to European games too, so Wilson Odobert (thigh) and Richarlison (calf) are the Lilywhites’ only two guaranteed absentees for the trip to Manchester.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot; Eriksen, Mainoo; Diallo, Fernandes, Garnacho; Zirkzee
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bentancur, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son
We say: Manchester United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
While Tottenham only boast a paltry three away wins in the Premier League over the past 10 months, the Lilywhites have won a staggering 28 points from losing positions since the start of last season, second only to Manchester City’s 31.
Therefore, even if Ten Hag’s wildly inconsistent troops can draw first blood, they will surely be pegged back in a similar vein to midweek, as Spurs leave Old Trafford with a share of the spoils for the third season running.
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