Manchester United will come into the game against Tottenham Hotspur in a confident mood. We have won the last four of five games in all competitions. The Red Devils are in second place in the Premier League table. We will look to take one step close to Champions League qualification with eight games remaining of the season left.
Before the international break, the Red Devils endured a disappointing loss to Leicester City in the FA Cup, but we have won the last three Premier League games. Last weekend, we came from behind thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes to beat Brighton 2-1.
We come into Sunday’s game having competed in the Europa League on Thursday beating Granda 2-0 in the quarter-finals first leg tie. It has put us in a great position to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the second consecutive year. Marcus Rashford made the breakthrough in the 31st minute as he superbly finished after picking up the over-the-top ball from Victor Lindelof. In the final minutes of the game, Bruno Fernandes cooly dispatched the penalty to make it two. It would be a surprise if we did not make it through after the second leg this week.
The Red Devils are currently 14 points behind rivals and league leaders Manchester City but are six points clear of fourth-place Chelsea. We are very much in control of second place at the moment. Our last success away from Old Trafford came last month as we 2-0 over City and have won our last two home games against West Ham and Brighton. We are currently unbeaten in 10 games in the league.
United has three more three league games before we see the month out facing Burnley, Leicester City, and Leeds. At the beginning of May, we face arch-rivals Liverpool at home and this could prove a bigger contest for our opponents as they chase a top-four place.
We have not lost a game away from Old Trafford since the 15th January 2020 and United has won 9 of the 15 away games this season. Though, the last four of them have ended in draws.
Opposition Preview
Tottenham currently lies in seventh place in the league. Their surprise elimination out of the Europa League last month has placed more pressure on manager Jose Mourinho. He is expected to deliver Spurs a top-four finish. There is a hint that if he doesn’t do this, then he will lose his job for not delivering Champions League football for next season.
Spurs still remain in contention for one trophy this season as they take on Manchester City at the end of the month in the Carabao Cup final. However, the next eight league games still remain of importance.
Tottenham was hoping to make it back-to-back to league victories last weekend, but a Joe Willock strike in the 86th minute gave Newcastle a share of points as they drew 2-2. Spurs are five points behind fourth-place Chelsea.
The North London Club has only won 7 of their 14 games at home this season. They have had four defeats, including losses to both Liverpool and Chelsea at the beginning of 2021. Tottenham have won the last three home games, scoring 10 goals in that time.
There is much speculation about their forward and captain Harry Kane as he will have to make big decision on his future if Spurs fail to achieve any European football for next season.
Tottenham vs Manchester United Match Details
Teams: Tottenham vs Manchester United
Date: April 11th, 2020 (Sunday)
KO Time: 16:30 BST
Competition: Premier League
Stadium: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Managers: Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Jose Mourinho
Manchester United Team News
For United, Anthony Martial remains unavailable for selection due to a knee injury. Martial expected to be out for the rest of the season. Phil Jones is also a long-term absentee. Eric Bailly is out of the Tottenham game following his recent positive test for covid-19.
Dean Henderson is expected to return between the sticks replacing David De Gea. Luke Shaw and Paul Pogba should be fit despite being taking off with minor knocks against Granada on Thursday evening. Fred is likely to come back into the midfield with Scott McTominay. Paul Pogba could potentially be moved out to the left with Marcus Rashford going through the middle of the attack.
Tottenham vs Manchester United Pre-Match Press Conference
During the pre-match press conference, Ole was asked about how hurt he was and the players after Tottenham had been beaten us 6-1 in the reverse fixture at the beginning of the season. He said, “Yeah, I think the players will remember that game with a lot of pain and their pride has been hurt. Our professional pride has been hurt, the manner we lost is not worthy of ourselves and our team and we know that. We gave ourselves a difficult game by having 10 men. Pre-season was short and we weren’t up to the standard required, but we were so poor and I’m pretty, pretty sure that we’ll see some players wanting to prove that we’re better than that.”
Ole was asked about Marcus Rashford and the number of games he has been playing this season. He said, “I don’t think you need to be concerned about his fitness. Of course, barring any injury. No, his fitness is really good. He’s an athletic boy, he’s a fit boy, strong boy, you can see when he goes into headers and challenges he can look after himself. But, at one point, of course you hope to get to a position where he doesn’t have to play every game, every minute and, at the moment, of course we have to take him off because his foot is a little bit sore. So hopefully that’ll improve as the season goes on because I think he was better tonight than he was on Sunday.”
Tottenham Team News
For our opponents, they will be without Matt Doherty and Ben Davies who suffered injuries whilst on international duty. Other than that, Tottenham has a strong squad to choose from. Serge Aurier and Toby Alderweireld have returned to training and could be in contention to make the starting eleven.
Son Heung-min who came on as a substitute against Newcastle United is expected to start. He could form an attacking partnership with Harry Kane, Lucas Moura, and Giovani Lo Celso.
Form Guide
Manchester United Premier League form: WDDWWW
Manchester United form (all competitions): DWWLWW
Tottenham Premier League form: WWWLWD
Tottenham form (all competitions): WWLLWD
Interesting Facts
- Manchester United is unbeaten in each of their last 22 Premier League away games (W14 D8).
- Manchester United have won just one of their last eight away Premier League matches against Spurs (D4 L3), a 1-0 win at Wembley in January 2019.
- United is the only unbeaten away side in Europe’s top five leagues this season. (BBC Sport)
- Marcus Rashford is the first player to score at least 20 goals in back-to-back seasons for Manchester United in all competitions since Wayne Rooney in 2008-09 and 2009-10. (BBC Sport)
Tottenham vs Manchester United Predicted Lineup
Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; Greenwood, Fernandes, Pogba, and Rashford
Prediction
United has a good record on the road this season and we will want to continue this on Sunday afternoon. It is expected that this will be an entertaining game. Tottenham needs the points themselves if they want European football next season. We will want to secure qualification for Champions League as qualification as quickly as possible and a win against Spurs will cement this further and second place in the league.
Predicted Score
Tottenham 1-2 Manchester United
