Spurs vs Manchester United: How will Red Devils respond?
Both Tottenham and Manchester United will be desperate to get back to winning ways when they clash on Saturday evening. Spurs come into this match having lost two of their last three games across all comps, including a pair of 1-0 losses to West Ham in league play and then to Dutch side Vitesse in the Europa Conference League. It’s no shock that Nuno is currently under increasing pressure, with his team struggling to achieve any sort of consistency.
Tottenham have lost four times this season, with three of those defeats coming from their last five games. It’s a stunning turn of events from a team who started proceedings so brightly, but have now really hit a bump in the road and continue to find it difficult to get back on track. Very worrying is Harry Kane’s poor form, which has seen him scored just once as the 28-year-old star continues to struggle following his failed move away from Spurs this past summer. That being said, despite sitting in sixth spot, they are just two points away from the top four and could potentially find themselves in a Champions League spot if they can beat the equally struggling Manchester United on Saturday.
However, Spurs have won just one of their last five Premier League games against the Red Devils, and were beaten 3-1 in this same match last season. Still, Manchester United have had their own issues as of late. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men suffered their heaviest home defeat in recent times – and their worst against Liverpool – last weekend, when they were humiliated 5-0 by the Reds at Old Trafford. Before that horrible result, which certainly has to be the nadir of the Norwegian’s tenure at Old Trafford, Manchester United were winless in their last three games, with losses to Leicester and Aston Villa sandwiching a frustrating draw with Everton.
Indeed, Manchester United are now on a two game losing streak, with the Liverpool mauling coming on the heels of their 4-2 defeat to Leicester. Like Nuno, Solskjaer is under crushing amounts of pressure, with many having called for his sacking immediately after the Liverpool disaster. However, for now, the Red Devils board have decided to stick with him, but if Ronald Koeman’s firing from Barcelona is any indication, Solskjaer will certainly know that he’s presently operating on severely borrowed time.
Stories of intense conflict and in-fighting in the Manchester United dressing room are really no shock, as the English titans really do appear to be a ship without a navigator. They do, however, have a strong historical record against Tottenham, with just ten losses from their prior 58 Premier League encounters versus the London-based side (36 wins, eight draws). Of concern, though, is Manchester United’s porous defense – so far, they’ve conceded 15 goals. Only Watford, Leeds United, Norwich City, and Newcastle have conceded more, and three of those teams – Leeds, Newcastle, and Norwich – are either in the drop zone or just barely hovering above it.
This game will see the visitors have to make do without Paul Pogba, who’s suspended following his sending off during Manchester United’s loss to Liverpool last round, but big money signing Raphael Varane has now recovered from a groin injury and may be able to slot back into the starting XI. As for Tottenham, only Ryan Sessegnon remains a long-term absentee.
It’s more than three points at stake for both Tottenham and Manchester United, who are really in a bad patch of form at the moment. Will this match turn out to the the saving grace for either Nuno or Solskjaer as each side aims to rebound after poor results recently?
