“Lads, it’s Spurs”. There aren’t many phrases in English football that have comes to symbolise a team more than these three infamous words uttered by Sir Alex Ferguson before a Manchester United game against Tottenham.
Roy Keane loved it, and it showed that Spurs would never be a threat to the “true elites” despite them punching above their weight on the odd occasion.
How things have changed, especially in regard to Manchester United’s situation!
When Erik ten Hag welcomes Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs to Old Trafford on January 14, the narrative around the two teams couldn’t be more different. Spurs are trending upwards, have signed players, and navigated an injury crisis expertly under their media darling manager.
United, on the other hand, are stumbling from one crisis to another, have just taken a huge loss on a marquee investment, and there is already an air of “must-win” in this game after their loss to Forest last time out.
Here’s the match preview, team news, and prediction for the game that is no longer “Spursy”.
Man United vs Spurs preview
United have won the same amount of games in their last five as Spurs have lost – One. This is enough to give you an idea about what their form is like coming into this fixture.
However, United did show signs of life, especially in attack, in their FA Cup fixture against Wigan Athletic. The strength of the opposition remains a question mark but then again, United have barely looked comfortable this season against any opponent so it was a step up.
Spurs, on the other hand, recovered well from a mid-season wobble after a flying start. Injuries threatened to derail their campaign but Postecoglou marshalled his resources expertly, squad players stepped up, and got the campaign back on track.
Alongside Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal, Spurs look like the best bet to seal that fourth spot. Therefore, this fixture is extremely important for the two teams to inflict a direct wound on a top-four rival.
Man United vs Spurs predicted lineups
Man United team news
Erik ten Hag has had his pre-match conference and it’s great news for United fans. The manager revealed that as many as six first-teamers could be set for a return to the squad in some capacity, some of them being crucial players.
These include Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Antony, and Amad.
Of these names, Shaw and Eriksen might go straight back into the first XI while Antony and Amad will be kept out by Garnacho’s good form. Martinez will probably be eased back into the fold since he’s coming off a serious injury. An appearance off the bench can be expected. Casemiro’s undisputed place in the XI has been rocked by Mainoo’s emergence.
United have also received permission from the Cameroon FA to release Andre Onana for the AFCON tournament after this game so he will start here.
Predicted Man United XI: Onana, Dalot, Evans, Varane, Shaw, Mainoo, Eriksen, Fernandes, Garnacho, Rashford, Hojlund
Spurs team news
Spurs got a huge boost recently when it was reported that Cristian Romero is ahead of his recovery timeframe and could be fit for this game. In the absence of Ben Davies, he will come straight back in.
New signing Radu Dragusin will also play a part here but it could be off the bench. Joining this new signing will be another in Timo Werner who has arrived to beef up the attacking ranks after Son Heun-Min’s departure for the Asia Cup.
Giovani Lo Celso will miss this with a hamstring strain and they’ll also miss the first-choice CDM duo as Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma have left for AFCON.
It will be a much-changed Spurs side, something which United could take advantage of.
Predicted Spurs XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Skipp, Bentancur; Johnson, Kulusevski, Werner; Richarlison
Man United vs Spurs prediction
It will be the first game at Old Trafford which Sir Jim Ratcliffe will attend after his 25% stake in the club was confirmed. Add to this being the first game at Old Trafford since that fateful 3-2 comeback win against Villa, injured players returning, and an encouraging performance against Wigan, the stage is set for Erik ten Hag’s charges to turn up.
It will be an unfamiliar Tottenham side battered by injuries and international call-ups and United start as favourites here. They need to be clinical with their chances because Tottenham will give them some in an entertaining, end-to-end game.
FootTheBall predicts Man United 3-2 Tottenham.
