Prediction, team news… All to know as Man United host Spurs
Manchester United welcome Tottenham in the English Premier League (EPL’s) standout fixture this Sunday as both look to pick up pace in the race for the Premier Leagu’s top four.
After a thrilling Boxing Day victory over Aston Villa on December 30, United lost 2-1 to Nottingham Forest, which left the Red Devils languishing in eighth place in the standings and nine points out of a Champions League position. This result sapped United’s confidence going into a hectic gameweek.
Manchester United, however, is coming off an FA Cup victory of 2-0 over Wigan Athletic, but they have been inconsistent in the league, suffering three losses in their last five Premier League games, going into this match against Tottenham.
On the other hand, not everything has gone well for Tottenham Hotspur, however they had a strong run towards the end of 2023 and are now only six points behind league leaders Liverpool in the title race. Similar to their hosts, Spurs defeated Burnley 1:0 to advance to the FA Cup’s fourth round.
When it comes to their head-to-head meetings, Manchester United has a great record at Old Trafford, having defeated Tottenham 96 times to their 54 wins while they have both had to share the spoils 50 times .
MANCHESTER UNITED VS TOTTENHAM TEAM NEWS
Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, and Luke Shaw may return to Manchester United, but it is still unclear when they will start because of how long their injury layoffs have been, particularly Martinez’s. While players like Anthony Martial, Harry Maguire, and Antony might also make a comeback, Mason Mount is likely out of this game.
Sofyan Amrabat will not also be available as he has joined his national team in preparation for the delayed 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast while Andre Onana decided to stay back and be between the sticks for the United before heading to Africa to join Cameron for the AFCON.
Ben Davies suffered a hamstring injury in Tottenham’s FA Cup victory over Burnley, so he will be sidelined. Giovani Lo Celso’s availability is in doubt and Heung-Min Son have gone to represent his country on the Asian Cup. Timo Werner may make his Tottenham debut in this high profile game following his loan transfer from RB Leipzig. Cristian Romero has resumed training, but the game is probably coming up too soon. James Maddison and Alejo Veliz will be out.
MANCHESTER UNITED VS TOTTENHAM TIME AND VENUE
Kick-off date is Sunday 14th January, 2024
Kick-off time is 5:30pm WAT
Venue is Old Trafford, Manchester
Referee will be John Brooks
MANCHESTER UNITED PREDICTED LINE UP
Onana, Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Evans, Dalot, McTominay, Mainoo, Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford, Hojlund
TOTTENHAM PREDICTED LINE UP
Vicario, Porro, Emerson, Van de Ven, Udogie, Skipp, Bentancur, Johnson, Kulusevski, Werner, Richarlison
MANCHESTER UNITED VS TOTTENHAM PREDICTION
Manchester United have been consistently inconsistent in keeping up forms this season (both good and bad forms) but they usually know how to bounce back. On the other hand, Spurs have the quality to make a statement in this game especially after the signing of Timo Werner on loan from German side RB Leipzig. It looks more likely that United that United will put up a better performance than The Lilywhites and keep the whole three points to theirselves.
We predict a 2-1 win for the home side.
See also: Fixtures, dates, time, venue, favourites… All to know as AFCON begins
