Manchester United host Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford tonight in what is the biggest game of the third round of Premier League fixtures.
Tottenham have started the season in fine form, taking maximum points from their opening two fixtures. Meanwhile, United laboured to a victory over Leicester in their opening game, before being humbled at Brighton in a 3-2 defeat last week.
On that balance, Spurs would almost certainly go down as pre-match favourites if they were playing any other time. However, this is no ordinary fixture for the north Londoners – Tottenham haven’t won, or even scored a goal, at Old Trafford since January 2014.
In fact, in 26 Premier League visits to the red side of Manchester, Spurs have only come away with three points on two occasions and their 21 defeat at Old Trafford is more than at any other Premier League away ground for the club.
And if Tottenham’s record against Manchester United wasn’t bad enough, the 20-time Premier League champions’ record against the rest of the ‘Big Six’ stacks up very well for them; the Red Devils have beaten each member of this esteemed group already in 2018, while Jose Mourinho has won 11 of his 15 clashes with Mauricio Pochettino.
With these records in mind, here is Squakwa’s prediction for tonight’s game.
Manchester United v Tottenham team news
Alexis Sanchez could make a welcome return for United tonight after being ruled out of the defeat by Brighton because of a groin injury, while Nemanja Matic and Antonio Valencia may also be available again.
Tottenham will have to continue without Son Heung-min, who is still on international duty with South Korea at the Asian Games, while Victor Wanyama has returned to training following a knee injury but thought to be not quite ready for a return to action.
What the managers say
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho (via BBC): “Against Brighton, we made mistakes, we paid for the mistakes and we lost.
“I think you look at football in a very pragmatic way, normally you get what you deserve, so if we want to win against a good team against Tottenham, we cannot make mistakes.
“In big matches last season we managed to get lots of good results, which in the end are points like the other points in the other matches. But for the supporters, normally it has a little different feeling.”
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino (via BBC): “We are a big club, of course, we need to be bigger of course and we are on the way to be a bigger club. But after four years, many people say we haven’t won anything.
“That is history. We are trying to set the basis to win, we are breaking records about good results but of course, it is not enough.”
Manchester United v Tottenham predicted line-ups
Manchester United
Before their testing start to the season even began, United endured a very tough pre-season. However, one thing Jose Mourinho could fall back upon was a successful 3-5-2 system. It helped paper over the cracks of poor performances from United’s wide men – both wingers and full-backs. With Sanchez, who should be fit to return to action tonight, struggling so far this season, but performing well through the middle in pre-season, this system could help Mourinho utilize one of his best players tonight. It would also provide Romelu Lukaku with a very skilfull partner up-front to feed off.
With Spurs possessing intelligent forwards that can provide great movement for their esteemed ball-players, it is important that United close the spaces tonight and plug gaps in their defensive line. Adding Chris Smalling alongside Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof provides that extra layer of cover, especially considering how much of a blow Bailly will have taken to his confidence in the fallout to the Brighton game last week. Pereira will have an important role as the midfield pivot, covering across the back three while unlocking Paul Pogba and allowing the Frenchman licence to roam into areas where he is most effective. Fred, due to his high work-rate will be expected to help in both midfield departments.
Luke Shaw has had a decent start to the season at left-back and would be given much more attacking freedom in this system. He and Lingard will have simple jobs, getting up and down each flank, but will need to work very hard if they are to add be effective in attack and safe in defence.
Tottenham Hotspur
As much as Erik Lamela and Mousa Dembele both had great effect from the bench against Fulham last week, Pochettino should stick with the same starting line-up at Old Trafford. Given that Spurs have three of the best central defenders in the Premier League, it would make complete sense for Pochettino to start with all three of them in a very tough away game.
That, along with Christian Eriksen dropping deeper for the ball will give Spurs more control both on and off the ball – Eriksen is just as effective at splitting a defence from deep as he is roaming between opposition lines and finding spaces.
As ever, Davies and Trippier will be a great attacking threat from wide, while also being experienced and disciplined enough to know their defensive roles. The attacking trio of Harry Kane, Lucas Moura and Dele Alli have all started the season in fine form.
Squawka’s Manchester United v Tottenham prediction
With Tottenham’s awful record at Old Trafford, and Jose Mourinho desperately needing a response from United’s 3-2 defeat at Brighton last week, it is hard to rule out a United victory here.
They will find it tough against a very strong Tottenham side but, with so many players in their starting XI with a massive point to prove, United will bounce back tonight and kick-start their season with a valuable win.
3-1 United win.
The post Manchester United v Tottenham prediction: The battle of the back-threes? appeared first on Squawka News.
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