Manchester United -v- Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League
Old Trafford, Manchester
Wednesday 19 October 2022, KO 20:15 BST
Manchester United will be pitted against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Wednesday evening. Over their last two matches, United have struggled to score goals, finding a winner against Omonia Nicosia thanks to Scott McTominay.
Against Newcastle United on Sunday, United had plenty of chances, had the ball in the back of the net twice but neither was given. It is a worrying sign for United but the return of Anthony Martial, who has scored or assisted in every appearance this season, would be good for United.
Spurs fans seem to think that their club is something to be proud of this season, despite them not able to beat Chelsea, West Ham United or Arsenal this season but seemingly assuming that because they are in the Champions League, they have a superiority over United – they don’t.
Manchester United – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
Newcastle United 0-0 D, Omonia Nicosia 1-0 W, Everton 2-1 W, Omonia Nicosia 3-2 W, Manchester City 6-3 L, FC Sheriff Tiraspol 2-0 W
Goals: 5 – Marcus Rashford, 3 – Antony, Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho, 2 – Cristiano Ronaldo, 1 – Bruno Fernandes, Own Goal, Scott McTominay
Assists: 3 – Christian Eriksen, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, 1 – Casemiro, Diogo Dalot, Anthony Elanga, Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo
Tottenham Hotspur – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
Everton 2-0 W, Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 W, Brighton and Hove Albion 1-0 W, Eintracht Frankfurt 0-0 D, Arsenal 3-1 L, Leicester City 6-2 W
Goals: 10 – Harry Kane, 5 – Son Heung-Min, 3 – Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, 2 – Eric Dier, Richarlison, 1 – Rodrigo Bentancur, Dejan Kulusevski, Ryan Sessegnon
Assists: 4 – Ivan Perisic, 3 – Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Dejan Kulusevski, 2 – Rodrigo Bentancur, Son Heung-Min, Harry Kane, Richarlison, 1 – Ben Davies, Emerson Royal
Previous Meetings & Connections
United and Spurs have met 60 times in the Premier League. United have won 38 times, drawing 12 times with Spurs winning 10 times. United have scored 104 goals, winning eight penalties, scoring all of them. Spurs have scored 59 goals, winning two penalties, scoring both of them.
United have kept a total of 28 clean sheets with Spurs keeping just eight. There have been some disciplinary issues with United players shown 108 yellow cards and four red cards. Spurs players have been shown 96 yellow cards and one red card.
Jack Hall, Jimmy Brown, Garth Crooks, Alan Brazil, Terry Gibson, Chris McGrath, Fraizer Campbell, Chris Jones, Zeki Fryers, Teddy Sheringham, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Carrick have played for both United and Spurs in the history of the two clubs.
Team News
Harry Maguire, Donny van de Beek, Brandon Williams and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are ruled out for United ahead of the Spurs clash. Scott McTominay was suspended and Martin Dubravka was ineligible to face Newcastle on Sunday. Christian Eriksen was missing through illness.
Youngsters Kobbie Mainoo and Zidane Iqbal were added to the bench for Sunday’s match, neither making an appearance at Old Trafford. United could hopefully have more availability in the squad to face Spurs although goalscoring is the main problem in this team this season.
Richarlison and Japhet Tanganga have been ruled out through injury ahead of the United clash at Old Trafford whilst Emerson Royal is suspended. Dejan Kulusevski has a 25% chance of featuring against United, which means he will probably need to get through a fitness test.
Predicted Manchester United Starting XI – 4-2-3-1
De Gea;
Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw;
Casemiro, McTominay;
Antony, Eriksen, Rashford;
Martial
Predicted Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI – 3-4-2-1
Lloris;
Romero, Dier, Davies;
Doherty, Højbjerg, Bentancur, Perisic;
Moura, Son;
Kane
Match Prediction
United have won the last three matches against Spurs, scoring nine goals and conceding just three. These have all come since the 6-1 thrashing of United back in October 2020, which was a new low for United. Spurs need not be confident of anything because of recent performances.
United endured their first draw of the season, and first under Erik ten Hag on Sunday so getting back to winning ways will be important in this match, helping to make Old Trafford a hard place to visit once again for all of United’s opponents.
United and Spurs have met 197 times in the history of the two clubs with United winning 95 times, Spurs winning 53 times with 49 draws. United have the superior record between the two clubs, having lost just twice in the last four seasons. United need to continue that trend.
Manchester United 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Written by John Walker
