TWO of the Premier Leagues “traditional top-six” will square off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday night when Spurs meet Man United.
Both sides went into the enforced break in contrasting form with Spurs lying in seventh and winless in three league games, while United were undefeated in 11 matches across all competitions.
Standing in the Red Devils way this weekend is a familiar face in the shape of former boss Jose Mourinho who has made a mixed start to life in the Tottenham Hotspur hot-seat
The self proclaimed “Special One”appeared to have sprinkled some magic on Spurs by leading the Lilywhites to four league wins in his first five matches in charge, however, Spurs were only able to win one of their four subsequent assignments in what turned out to be a miserable festive period for Mourinho and Co.
Manchester's United form since the turn of the year has brought a sense of optimism back to Old Trafford and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side will make the trip south with talisman Marcus Rashford primed to return to action following a lengthy lay off.
Winning the Europa League was widely regarded as the Red Devils best route into next season's Champions League, however, United blew the Premier League‘s top-four race wide open with a 2-0 success at Stamford Bridge before the season came to a halt, a result that could go a long way to seeing United return to Europe's top table next term.
Outright Betting
Tottenham are 2/1 with William Hill to triumph on Friday night, while a point apiece is priced up at 12/5 with the same firm.
Man United have won their last three matches against Spurs and fourth win on the spin for the Red Devils is at best 7/5 with Bet 365
Betting Angles
This looks like an incredibly tough fixture to call given the unpredictability of these two respective sides and therefore I'm going to steer clear of the more traditional markets and instead opt for a couple of alternative angles.
I'm going to start off by delving into the card markets and a bet that I like the look of here is the 4/1 that Bet 365 are offering for Serge Aurier to be booked on Friday night.
Indeed, the Spurs right-back has only collected three cards this season (two yellows and one red) however, Aurier is error-prone and he could be tasked with trying to tame Marcus Rashford who has performed admirably this season when starting on the left-wing and drifting inside.
Given Aurier's inconsistency, coupled with the pace and flair that United possess in forward areas, the 4/1 (Bet 365) that is available for Ivorian to have his name taken on Friday night takes appeal.
What's more, Aurier could well spend long stretches of this showdown on the back-foot should Mourinho set out to frustrate his former employers with his defensive blueprint and I suspect the Portuguese may well get up to his old tricks on Friday night by “parking the bus”.
With that in mind, as well as the fact that each of the Red Devils last six road trips have featured under 2.5 goals, a repeat on Friday night could be worth considering at 19/20 with UniBet.
Indeed, those odds take appeal, however, I'm going to take a slightly more cautious approach by being creative with Bet 365's Bet Builder feature by combining under 3.5 match goals and Manchester United Double Chance at 10/11 (Bet 365)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does appear to have a knack for formulating a plan to thwart the heavyweights of the division – champions-elect Liverpool are the only team in the current top-eight who have managed to topple United this term.
Furthermore, Tottenham rank-joint bottom when it comes to keeping clean sheets this season having registered just four shutouts in 29 attempts and given their lack of pace and mobility at the back, I suspect United could have the tools to trouble the Londoners leaky backline.
This English Premier League match between Tottenham and Man United will be played on Jun 19, 2020 and kick off at 20:15. Check below for our tipsters best Tottenham vs Man United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
