Manchester United are getting ready for their second match of the season, as Erik Ten Hag’s side is set for a trip to London to face Tottenham Hotspur. Here is what you need to know ahead of the match.
Team News
Ange Postecoglou will be withou a number of players for this match. Bryan Gil has a groin problem, Rodrigo NBentancur is out due to a knee injury, Fraster Forster is struggling with his back, Ryan Sessegnon with a hamstring, while Alfie Whiteman has ankle issues. Tanguy Ndombele was not in the team against Brentford, which was unexpected, while it remains to be seen whether Romero will play against United, following his taking off due to a head injury. Eric Dier is expected to make a return ot the team, while Micky van de Ven is the new Spurs signing we might be seeing in action.
As for Man United, there are some things still to see, most notably whether Lisandro Martinez will be able to play after getting an ankle injury against Wolves. Victor Lindelof could be coming in his place if that is not the case, while Harry Maguire will be following the situation as well, after deciding to stay at Man United. We are certain Ten Hag will not be able to count on Rasmus Hojlund due to a back problem, Kobbie Maino injured his ankle in pre=season, while Tyrell Malacia and Amad Diallo both have knee injuries to deal with. Tom Heaton is also out due to calf problem.
Form Guide
Tottenham Hotspur, like United, played just one competitive match so far, but they had an interesting pre-season. They played in matches with plenty of goals, beating Lion City Sailors and Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 each, but also losing to Barcelona 4-2 and West Ham 3-2. In their first match of the season, Spurs drew 2-2 against Brentford away from home.
This was a properly chaotic match, or at least the first half of it. Spurs got in the lead thanks to defender Cristian Romero, before Brentford’s strikers Wissa and Mbeumo scored to make a turnaround by 36th minute. Another defender scored for Spurs, as Emerson Royal netted what would turn out to be the final goal of the match, in first-half’s stoppage time. This was a great performance for James Maddison, former Leicester playmaker, as he created both goals for Spurs.
As for Man United, things are quite clear in that regard. After a pre-season in which we had seen some positives and negatives, the first match of the new Premier League season brought just one real positive thing – the three points. United defeated Wolves 1-0 on Monday night in a tough match, with the visitors troubling Erik Ten Hag’s side. We already plenty about the negatives from those 90 minutes and hopefully improvements will be on display on Saturday.
Predicted Outcome
The performance against Wolves was far from satisfying, but the next opposition has always been a great source of improving the impression. That is why we predict Manchester United will beat Tottenham 2-1, although in some scenarios we would not be surprised if the score was to be 3-2.
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