MANCHESTER UNITED travel to Tottenham looking to continue their winning start to the Premier League season TONIGHT!
The Red Devils were fortunate to come away with a tight 1-0 win over Wolves in their Monday night opener.
Meanwhile, Spurs drew 2-2 to Brentford in their first game of the season without Harry Kane, who left to join Bayern Munich last week.
- Kick off time: 5:30pm BST
- TV channel: Sky Sports Main Event/Premier League
- Live stream: NOW
- Tottenham team: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison, Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son
- Man United team: Onana, Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw, Casemiro, Mount, Bruno Fernandes, Antony, Garnacho, Rashford
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Tottenham’s next five Premier League games
- Tottenham vs Manchester United (Aug 19)
- Bournemouth vs Tottenham (Aug 26)
- Burnley vs Tottenham (Sep 2)
- Tottenham vs Sheffield United (Sep 16)
- Arsenal vs Tottenham (Sep 24)
SunSport’s prediction
Tottenham look like they’re going to try and blow teams away offensively this season under Postecoglou’s regime.
But committing too many men forward could open the door for Man United’s counter-attacks to catch out the Spurs back line.
The likes of Richarlison and Heung-min Son will have to be on their game to convert the chances Spurs do create if they’re to get all three points.
Prediction: Tottenham 2-2 Manchester United
Who will be Man United’s star man?
Marcus Rashford was Man United’s star man last season and up against a committed Tottenham attack he could certainly make the most of his blistering pace to catch them on the counter attack.
Who will be Spurs’ star man?
Tottenham will be looking to James Maddison to make things happen after he registered two assists on his Spurs debut.
Maddison himself will be hoping to impress in front of the fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time.
Man Utd team news
Rasmus Hojlund remains out for United as he picked up a back injury in pre-season with Atalanta before moving to Old Trafford.
Lisandro Martinez was hooked at half time during the Wolves game following a slight injury and could be a doubt for Saturday’s clash.
Tottenham team news
Spurs should more or less remain unchanged but there is concern for Christian Romero, who came off in the draw with Brentford with a head injury.
Should he miss out he will join Bryan Gil (groin), Rodrigo Bentancur (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) and Fraser Forster (back) on the sidelines.
Big games need better performances
Last season, Tottenham lost 8 of the 10 games they played against sides who finished in the top five.
The only points they picked up in these games were against the two Manchester clubs.
A 1-0 victory over Man City came along with a 2-2 draw with Man Utd.
New era, chance for new start
Yves Bissouma will have had a different idea of how life in North London was going to pan out after he made the switch from Brighton.
It has been a frustrating time for the midfielder as he has struggled to make an impression and get himself a regular starting spot.
Against Brentford last weekend, Bissouma was one of the star players for Spurs and will be looking to build on that performance and ensure that under Postecoglou, he is one of the first names on the team sheet.
Favourite fixture for Red Devils
Man Utd have won 39 of the 62 games they have played against Tottenham in the Premier League era.
It is the joint record for the most victories over a Premier League opponent, along with their record they hold against Everton.
Tottenham will have their work cut out today to change this as Erik ten Hag’s side look to extend their 100% start to the season.
Ange looking to break the trend
Tottenham have only won once in their last nine games in this fixture.
In October 2020, they won 6-1 at Old Trafford in a memorable victory.
Man Utd have won twice and drawn twice at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and only them and Liverpool remain unbeaten at the ground in the Premier League.
The curious case of Richarlison
Ever since his £50m transfer from Everton, the Brazilian striker has found goals hard to come by at Tottenham.
Despite regularly scoring goals for Brazil, this form has not yet been seen by Spurs’ fans.
Playing second fiddle to Harry Kane, Richarlison now has the chance to prove his worth and win over the hearts and minds of the North London faithful.
Man United’s next five Premier League games
- Tottenham vs Manchester United (Aug 19)
- Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest (Aug 26)
- Arsenal vs Manchester United (Sep 3)
- Manchester United vs Brighton (Sep 16)
- Burnley vs Manchester United (Sep 23)
Home is where the heart is
Ange Postecoglou will be more than aware of how important it is to make your ground somewhere that travelling sides do not relish visiting.
Over recent years, Tottenham have really struggled against the top sides and will need to find a way to grind out results in these games.
With the departure of Harry Kane, pressure is on some of their other star names to step up to the plate and show how they can fill in for the hole left by club’s all-time record goalscorer.
Dutchman will be expecting more from stars
While in the post-match interview Erik ten Hag said he was happy with his side’s performance, this had to be just for the cameras.
If the manager was actually content with what he saw on the pitch, you would have to question whether he was watching the same game as the rest of us.
His side were largely played off the park by Gary O’Neil’s side and did not look like a side who will be challenging for honours this season.
VAR stars for United victory
Man Utd won their first game of the season in very controversial style.
Despite Wolves dominating the game, the visitors just could not find their form in front of goal and fell behind to a Raphael Varane header.
In the closing stages of the game, Andre Onana wiped out Sasa Kalajdzic getting nowhere near the ball but unbelievably the VAR review decided it was not a penalty.
Welcome to Tottenham vs Man Utd
The game of the day sees Tottenham welcome Erik ten Hag’s Man Utd to North London for Ange Postecoglou’s first home game of his reign.
Life without Harry Kane started at Brentford last weekend but Tottenham had to settle for a draw and will be keen to get their first Premier League win of the season.
Man Utd were very fortunate to get all three points as they welcomed Wolves to Old Trafford as the visitors dominated the game and their inability to score was to cost them.
For Tottenham, Bryan Gil, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ryan Sessegnon, Fraser Forster and Alfie Whiteman will all miss this game through injury.
Tanguy Ndombele was not involved in the squad last weekend, despite being fit to play, so it remains to be seen if he will make the squad today.
Cristian Romero has been passed fit to play after concussion concerns and will rejoin Micky van de Ven in the centre of defence, while Eric Dier and Japhet Tanganga tried to force their way back into the matchday squad.
For Man Utd, Lisandro Martinez suffered a minor ankle injury in their first game but the injury has been played down and he is expected to available for today’s game.
Rasmus Hojlund, Kobbie Mainoo, Tyrell Malacia, Amad Diallo and Tom Heaton all head the injury list for the Red Devils.
Christian Eriksen may well be brought back into the starting line-up to face his old side.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
