Manchester United haven’t enjoyed too much success in North London in recent years, however they were victorious at Wembley Stadium last season and the Red Devils will be feeling full of confidence ahead of their first ever visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have won five of their last seven games against the Lilywhites and they will be determined to pile more misery on former boss Jose Mourinho this weekend. The visitors will be also aiming to do the double over the Londoners for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign.
Team News
According to major news sites, Anthony Martial will be rested for Thursday night’s Europa League clash with LASK Linz, although the Frenchman is hopeful of a return to action on Sunday afternoon.
Paul Pogba is back in training and although this game could come too soon for the 27-year old, he is likely to be involved before the end of the month.
Marcus Rashford and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are long-term absentees and definitely won’t feature at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Key Player
Spurs’ defensive troubles have been well-documented in recent weeks so Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is likely to instruct Dan James to run at the Spurs back-line as often as possible. However, it could be Bruno Fernandes’ ability to test an out-of-form Hugo Lloris which could prove profitable in North London. The Portuguese playmaker chalked up another assist against Manchester City last weekend and could make the difference in this one.
The Opposition
Managed by former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, Spurs are struggling for form and they were dumped out of the Champions League on Tuesday night by RB Leipzig. The Portuguese gaffer bemoaned his side’s injury problems post-match suggesting that the entirety of the Bundesliga side’s bench would have made it into his XI. As Red Devils fans will all too aware, Mourinho’s continuous sniping and overlooking of youth players isn’t helping morale at the club, and they come into this game at an extremely low ebb.
They are winless in three Premier League games coming into this game and have slipped to 8th place in the table. They will once again be without Juan Foyth, Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min, Ben Davies and Moussa Sissoko.
Odds?
According to most UK betting sites, United are fancied to pick up three points in the capital, and their odds have continued to shorten throughout the week. They will be hoping to make it eleven games unbeaten in all competitions and record back-to-back Premier League victories.
Current Form
Tottenham Hotspur (PL)
D L L W W
Manchester United (PL)
W D W W D
Last Three Meetings
4th Dec 2019 – Manchester United 2-1 Spurs
13th Jan 2019 – Spurs 0-1 Manchester United
27th August 2018 – Manchester United 0-3 Spurs
Match Prediction
On current form, it’s hard to look beyond a Manchester United victory in this game. Despite Europa League commitments, and the prospect of a trip to Austria on Thursday night, Ole’s side should have enough to collect three points. The squad is in decent shape, morale is high, and they should be able to capitalise on Spurs’ recent misfortune.
There will also be a number of players, especially Luke Shaw, who have something to prove to their former manager and they will be motivated to collect three points on Sunday afternoon.
Score Prediction: Spurs 1-2 Manchester United
