Manchester United face Tottenham in Saturday’s early kick-off at Old Trafford. Jose Mourinho’s side will look to respond to their shock defeat to promoted Huddersfield Town, but they’ll face a tough test against Mauricio Pochettino’s men who put Liverpool to the sword in impressive style, winning 4-1 at Wembley.
Both teams are level on 20 points with United above on goal difference and sitting five points behind league leaders Manchester City.
To Win
Man United 23/20
Draw 23/10
Tottenham 49/20
Manchester United
Manchester United’s flying start to the season came to an abrupt end as they suffered their first defeat of the campaign with a shock 2-1 loss at promoted Huddersfield Town. Mourinho’s side got what they deserved for their disappointing display as they were out-fought and out-thought by David Wagner’s aggressive Terriers.
United haven’t looked their usual dangerous self in recent games. Despite a sound defensive display against Liverpool, they were still unconvincing and a goalkeeping error gifted them victory over 
Benfica in the UEFA Champions League last Wednesday. Mourinho will demand an improved performance from his players and victory over Spurs will banish any memory of the John Smith’s Stadium.
United have won their last three home meetings against Spurs, keeping clean sheets in all and they’ve been excellent at home this season, comfortably beating West Ham, Leicester City, Everton and Crystal Palace, scoring 14 goals without reply.
Paul Pogba will miss the visit of high-flying Spurs, while he’ll also be absent for the trip to Chelsea the following week. The Frenchman has been recovering in Florida after missing the last eight games with a hamstring injury picked up against Basel on September 12. It looks as though United fans won’t be able to see Pogba line up in a red shirt again until December at the earliest.
Romelu Lukaku has now gone three games without a goal, with the Belgian looking increasingly isolated without Pogba flying forward from midfield. Lukaku will be desperate to get on the scoresheet and move ahead of Harry Kane on the top-scorers list. The 24-year-old has netted seven goals in the league this season, four of them coming at Old Trafford.
Tottenham
Tottenham come into this matchup with confidence sky-high after earning a draw at Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League last week and smashing Liverpool 4-1 at Wembley last Sunday. Pochettino’s men are undefeated since their 2-1 loss against Chelsea at Wembley in August, winning five of their last seven matches in the league, including four on the spin.
Spurs have tasted defeat on their last three trips to United, failing to find the back of the net, but prior to that, they won back-to-back meetings at Old Trafford in the 2012/13 and 2013/14 campaigns. Pochettino’s men did get the better of United in their last meeting, claiming a 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane back in May.
Pochettino’s men have been superb away from home this season, having beaten Newcastle, Everton, West Ham and Huddersfield, who handed United their first defeat of the season last weekend. And after an impressive performance at the Bernabeu, Spurs will fancy their chances of returning to London with maximum points.
With Kane leading the line up front, Spurs always have a chance of victory. The England international is right up there with the top strikers in the world on current form. He has won the Premier League Golden Boot for the past two years running and currently lies on top of the pile again this term with eight goals. With Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli behind him, Spurs look very dangerous in attack.
Probable line-ups:
Man United: 4-2-3-1
De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Jones, Young; Herrera, Matic; Mkhitaryan, Mata, Rashford; Lukaku.
Tottenham: 3-4-2-1
Lloris; Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen; Aurier, Dier, Dembele, Rose; Eriksen, Alli; Kane.
Prediction: Draw (23/10)
United were poor against Huddersfield last weekend, with Mourinho questioning the attitude of his players. On the other hand, Spurs looked really good against Liverpool and come into this game high on confidence. Mourinho’s side have been excellent at Old Trafford this season, but Pochettino’s men have been equally impressive away from home. I’m backing the teams to cancel each other out.
Chad Nagel
You might like to check out our Soccer / Football App
