Tottenham are predicted to make a bit of a splash at Old Trafford as they look to increase the pressure on the teams above them in the table. After Manchester City regained their position among the top two teams with a win over Newcastle on Saturday, it is Ange Postecoglou’s turn to respond.
Spurs are well rested after a long break following last week’s FA Cup third round win over Burnley and will be boosted by new signings Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner. Spurs have a number of injury problems to contend with, a list that even makes the absent Erik ten Hag look short.
On form, there is only one winner in a match like this. United have won twice out of their last seven games, while Postecoglou are on the up with five wins out of six. The Red Devils usually do better on home turf, but they lost their penultimate game against Bournemouth.
Paul Merson is not convinced that Postecoglou’s charges will get rid of their fitness problems here. “If Tottenham win, they will leapfrog Arsenal in the standings, which means the Gunners will drop out of the top four,” he wrote for SportsKeeda. “Literally three weeks ago, Mikel Arteta’s men were the team to beat and top of the table, and after this weekend’s campaign they could be fifth, which is just incredible.
“Manchester United, on the other hand, are nine points behind Arsenal and face an uphill struggle to secure a Champions League place next season. They need to win this game to have a chance of finishing in the top four, but they have not been consistent this season. Manchester United are very difficult to predict, but one thing is for sure – they tend to show up when the writing is on the wall.
“I’m predicting a lot of goals in this game and I’ll be shocked if it ends goalless, so I’m going for a 2-2 draw. There was a lot of talk about Tim Werner after he unexpectedly transferred to Tottenham. I watched him a lot when he was at Chelsea and I cannot think of a player who was more often penalised for a foul than him.
“I understand that a striker tries too hard to get behind the spine if he’s slow, but Werner is lightning quick, so I have no idea why he’s always found himself in an offside position. If he manages to solve this problem, I really think this transfer could turn out to be a masterstroke by Anže Postecoglou.”
Merson’s prediction: Manchester United 2:2 Tottenham.
Chris Sutton thinks United’s difficulty in getting a run of results has left them without a winning record. “The interesting thing about the Premier League this season is that so many teams have been so inconsistent – and Manchester United certainly fall into that category,” he wrote for the BBC.
“In their last home game against Aston Villa, they found a way to win but failed to follow it up when they were away to Nottingham Forest a few days later and lost. Old Trafford is certainly no fortress for Eric ten Hag’s men at the moment and it is worrying for them that only two teams from the bottom of the table have scored fewer than 22 goals in their first 20 league games.
“So far Tottenham have had no problem scoring goals – they have scored 20 more than United – but I am worried about how they will cope without Son Heung-Min, who is away at the Asian Cup. Former Chelsea striker Timo Werner signed on loan this week and we know he has electric pace and can be a nightmare, but he’s not usually clinical enough in front of goal. It will be interesting to see how he does.
“I still think they will win even without Son. Spurs haven’t done the double over United since the 1989-90 season, beating them home and away in the league, but I’m backing them here. We know how Tottenham will play because they play the same way against everyone and they will create a lot of chances.
“There is a chance that Tottenham’s approach will suit United, and Alejandro Garnacho seems to be gaining confidence week by week. He will be a threat, but the question is how many of his team-mates will appear on the pitch.”
Sutton’s prediction: Manchester United 1-3 Tottenham