Big Match Breakdown: Tottenham v Manchester United
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Top-four rivals meet at Wembley
The midweek Premier League action continues tonight with the highlight surely Manchester United’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
Both sides are enjoying unbeaten spells, but pressure from Chelsea and Liverpool will ensure that a draw tonight shall be seen as two points dropped.
Spurs have drawn their last two games across league and cup, but only Manchester City have managed to beat them in their last 13 games.
As for the Red Devils, they’ve won five on the spin in January and haven’t conceded a goal in their last six.
So it’s all set to be a closely contested battle, and the Coral News Team have all the pre-match info…
Head-to-Head
Man United used to love going to White Hart Lane – it was a regular source of three points. But those days are over. The 20-time champions haven’t won any of their last five visits to Spurs.
The reverse tie in October produced a 1-0 win to the Old Trafford outfit, but results have been evenly split between these two in recent times.
The last 11 meetings have yielded four Spurs wins, three draws and four Man United victories.
Likely XIs
Mauricio Pochettino will recall Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min, Davinson Sanchez and probably Ben Davies here, after the foursome started on the bench for their FA Cup game against Newport County.
Harry Kane will start up front, although he’s only netted once in seven games against Man United. Lucas Moura’s debut will be left until the weekend.
This will be Alexis Sanchez’s first league game for Jose Mourinho’s side, having made his debut against Yeovil in the FA Cup.
The Chilean impressed and should start at Wembley, although he’s likely to be linking up with Romelu Lukaku who should earn a recall in place of Marcus Rashford.
Jesse Lingard is also likely to start, while at least one of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling will return to the starting XI too.
Key Battles
This will be the first real test of Sanchez’s impact since leaving Arsenal. Will the Chilean be able to help Mourinho’s men break down the top sides?
The key contest will be how Spurs’ talented defence handle their opponents’ pace and power up front.
Equally at the other end, the duel between Harry Kane and Phil Jones and/or Chris Smalling is pivotal.
United must also ensure Nemanja Matic keeps tabs on the marauding Alli, while Son could change the game if he can find space.
Match Odds
Tottenham are 7/5 favourites to win, with United the outsiders at 2/1. The draw appeals at 12/5.
There’s plenty of attacking talent on show at Wembley tonight, but Jose Mourinho’s knack for trying to stifle top-six sides away from home is well known.
Under 2.5 goals is 10/11. But the 11/2 on a 1-1 draw could be the bet of the evening.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
