Manchester United will look to strengthen their position inside the Champions League places as they welcome inconsistent Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford in the lunchtime Premier League kickoff on Saturday.
After wins at home to rivals Manchester City and away at leaders Arsenal, Manchester United looked as if they were cruising to a third straight victory as they raced into a two-goal lead over Fulham at Old Trafford last weekend.
However, the Red Devils required a 94th-minute winner from Benjamin Sesko to clinch all three points, after having been pegged back at 2-2 in the 91st minute following a stunning strike from Kevin.
That’s now three straight victories since taking charge as interim boss for the second time for Michael Carrick, meaning they remain in fourth spot in the Premier League table, just six points behind city-rivals Manchester City in second.
That’s due to Pep Guardiola’s men dropping points in North London last Sunday, as a spirited second-half performance from Thomas Frank’s men saw them come from two goals down to draw 2-2 – on an afternoon in which both of my selections landed, with help from bet365’s Early Payout offer.
Despite that impressive second-half showing, that’s now just two wins across Tottenham’s last 15 Premier League outings (W2-D6-L7), leaving them languishing in 14th position, 12 points behind their hosts.
How the bookies view it: United favourites
Manchester United are favourites to make it four consecutive wins under Michael Carrick, with bet365 pricing a home success at 13/20.
Tottenham are 15/4 to claim just their third win from their last 16 Premier League outings, whilst the draw is 16/5.
Head to head: Spurs United’s bogey team
Spurs have become a bit of a bogey team for Manchester United over the last few years, with the Lilywhites unbeaten in each of their previous eight meetings with the Red Devils (W5-D3-L0), including a memorable 1-0 victory in the Europa League final last May.
Players to watch: Bruno to help bag again?
Bruno Fernandes continues to be Manchester United’s talisman this season, with the Portuguese international involved in 41% of their goals in the Premier League.
The United captain has scored five goals and provided 12 assists across his 21 Premier League appearances this campaign – including an assist in each of his last four league appearances – and is an appealing 9/4 at bet365 to Assist for the second time against Spurs this season.
Predicted line-ups:
Manchester United will be without the injured Matthijs de Ligt and Patrick Dorgu, but Mason Mount may be available once again.
Spurs will be without Kevin Danso, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Ben Davies, Pedro Porro, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, Richarlison and Mohammed Kudus through injury, but Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence should return.
Manchester United: Lammens, Dalot, Martinez, Maguire, Shaw, Casemiro, Mainoo, Diallo, Fernandes, Cunha, Mbeumo
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Spence, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Gray, Palhinha, Gallagher, Simons, Kolo Muani, Solanke
Anything else catch the eye?
These two clubs played out a dramatic 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture in North London back in November, and I’m expecting a similarly entertaining encounter at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Michael Carrick has seen his side score eight goals across his opening three games in interim charge, but United have kept just three clean sheets in the Premier League all season, shipping multiple goals in their last two.
Despite their position in the table, Spurs have the joint-third-best away record in the division, and have also seen Over 2.5 Goals land in nine of their past 11 away days.
That bodes well for a high-scoring encounter at Old Trafford on Saturday, and I like the look of the 17/20 on offer at Coral/Ladbrokes for Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 Goals.
Interested in why both teams scoring is such a strong angle? Check out our Masterclass on BTTS and sharpen your match-reading game.
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