The English Premier League continues this weekend, so take a look at our tips and predictions for the Manchester United vs. Tottenham Hotspur match. With plenty of picks and markets to choose from, don’t waste your time and join the action at Get More Sports.
Manchester United vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Three-Way: 1: Man Utd +143; X: +240 Draw; 2: Tottenham +258 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread -0.5: Man Utd +129; Tottenham -132
Total +2.5: Over +110; Under -116
MANCHESTER UNITED
The Red Devils are without a win in the previous two Premier League matches, and their city rivals are now five points clear at the top of the table. After an uninspiring display at Anfield against Liverpool, Manchester United disappointed in Huddersfield, where they looked vulnerable in the defense for the second time this season. Ironically, Stoke City and the Terriers managed to do what other teams in the EPL failed – to score against the rock-solid United’s defense. Jose Mourinho men had the ball on their feet even 78%, but the finishing was poor and the lack of quality deliveries in the final third. The substitute Marcus Rashford was the only bright spot as the youngster pulled one back in the 78th minute, but that wasn’t enough for a comeback.
Outside of the Premier League, United recorded a narrow 1-0 victory in Lisbon over Benfica in the Champions League, and their latest match in the Carabao Cup resulted in a 2-0 win at Liberty Stadium against Swansea City. Jesse Lingard sent his team to the 1/4 finals with a fantastic brace as the England international impressed with his performance, and he could be in the line to start against Spurs on Saturday. Lingard could come handy in the attack as Romelu Lukaku is struggling at the moment as he’s without a goal in the last four appearances. Marcus Rashford bagged some important goals, including the lucky one in Lisbon, and Jose Mourinho could opt to field both Lingard and Rashford from the first minute when United host Tottenham.
Manchester United have played 15 games so far in 2017/18, recording 11 wins, two draws, and two losses, with a goal difference of 37:8, which is exactly three goals per contest on average. When it comes to home matches, the Red Devils won all six outings and conceded only one goal against Burton in the Carabao Cup back in September. They recorded three consecutive wins over Tottenham at Old Trafford, without allowing a single goal, so the visitors should be up to end this negative streak. Still, Spurs were better in the last H2H duel with two goals to one.
Even with his scoring drought, Romelu Lukaku is still the team’s leading scorer with 11 goals in 14 appearances, but Marcus Rashford is getting near with seven goals thus far, while Anthony Martial has five, and Marouane Fellaini four goals. Henrikh Mkhitaryan entered this season furiously with five assists in the first three matches, but he managed to record just one since and Martial caught him at the top of the assist-making chart as they have six dishes apiece. Rashford, whose flick at Liberty Stadium set up Lingard’s opening goal, now collected five assists in total, while Lingard has three to his name. Paul Pogba is still unavailable as he’s recovering from a muscle injury, as well as Zlatan Ibrahimovic (cruciate ligament injury) and Michael Carrick (calf). Eric Bailly could return after missing time with a knock, while Phil Jones declared himself ready for an encounter with Tottenham. Marcos Rojo is slowly progressing at training and should be back in ten days, while Fellaini is doubtful with a knee injury that forced him to miss the previous four games.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Spurs destroyed Liverpool in the latest Premier League match mainly thanks to Dejan Lovren’s pair of defensive mistakes and quick goals from Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, so Tottenham had a 2-0 lead after just 12 minutes. The Reds clawed one back through Mohamed Salah, but Dele Alli’s volley in the dying moments of the first half pretty much decided the encounter. Tottenham is currently in the 3rd place with the same amount of points as the Red Devils, and five behind Man City, but they are out of the Carabao Cup after West Ham beat them 3-2 at Wembley.
The Hammers ended Spurs’ 11-game unbeaten streak with a fantastic display in the second half, even though Tottenham led by two goals at halftime. Moussa Sissoko and Dele Alli scored goals for the hosts in the opening 37 minutes, and it appeared that Spurs would record another victory, but Andre Ayew’s brace and Angelo Ogbonna’s header turned the match around, and Tottenham was left empty-handed. Almost nobody believed what happened at Wembley as the visitors took a crucial win to save a job to their manager Slaven Bilic, who is under a lot of pressure lately.
Mauricio Pochettino knows that this loss might affect his players and their performance in the upcoming game at Old Trafford, so he must rely on his team’s mental strength because it’s not going to be easy to play against Man United. I believe that Tottenham needs to score an opening goal in order to avoid defeat, but considering that United’s defense allowed only one goal at home this year, it’s easier said than done.
Tottenham played 14 games in this campaign, recording nine victories, three draws, and two losses, with a goal difference of 29:11, which is 2.85 goals per contest on average. Spurs are playing better away from Wembley as they are without a defeat in six matches, with five wins and only one draw against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu. However, they failed to score in the previous three visits to Old Trafford, and that’s going to be a huge challenge on Saturday.
The unstoppable Harry Kane wasn’t included in the match squad against Swansea and Pochettino surely regretted that decision as the team missed their talisman when Spurs went all-out attack in the final 20 minutes. Kane scored 13 goals in 12 appearances and will certainly pose the biggest threat to United’s defense, and they must close him down, so I am sure Mourinho will prepare a particular strategy to keep Kane away from De Gea’s goal. Dele Alli with five and Christian Eriksen with four are following Kane on the goal-scoring chart. The right-back Kieran Trippier is still the team’s top assist-maker with six dishes to his name, while Eriksen has four assists thus far. Moussa Dembele returned to action in the Carabao Cup tie and is in the contention to start alongside Eric Dier in the heart of the midfield, but Erik Lamela will miss a couple more weeks with a hip injury. The good news for Pochettino is that Victor Wanyama is close to returning to full training, but we shouldn’t expect him playing on Saturday.
Manchester United vs. Tottenham Hotspur – Match Prediction
The visitors will be looking to bounce back and are eager to score at Old Trafford for the first time since 2014, but I am not convinced that one goal will be enough for a victory. Probably is the right time for United to concede a goal or two at home, as it’s going to be tough to handle the England best player at the moment. The Red Devils have their weapons as well, and I would highlight Romelu Lukaku, who was always described as the player who can’t perform well in big games, so the Belgian has an excellent opportunity to prove the opposite.
MY PICK: Both teams to score YES (-120)
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