Manchester United and Tottenham’s Premier League clash this weekend feels like a pivotal moment in their respective seasons. Currently separated by only goal difference in the table, a win for third-place Spurs will sling them back into the title race, while a win for United will create a gap between the two Manchester clubs and the rest of the pack.
On top of that, Saturday’s 12.30pm kickoff sees a side with a perfect home record host a team with a perfect away record, suggesting the margins will be exceptionally fine, even by usual Premier League standards, at Old Trafford.
So how will Gameweek 10’s blockbuster fixture in the Premier League pan out? This week’s experts, Scott from Republik of Mancunia and The Fighting Cock’s Windy, share their thoughts with Football FanCast.
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Jose Mourinho was widely criticised for the defensive approach he took at Anfield, eking out a particularly dull scoreless draw against a Liverpool side who’ve won just once in the Premier League since August. But with Tottenham in such stellar form on the road and level on points with United in the table, can the United boss afford to set his side up more expansively on Saturday?
Scott: How Mourinho sets up will depend on which players are available. Going to Anfield without three players he’s relied heavily upon, in Paul Pogba, Marouane Fellaini and Eric Bailly, meant there was greater pressure on him to think of something to protect the defence.
Perhaps the biggest difference between Tottenham this season and previous campaigns is the tactical variety Mauricio Pochettino has shown. We’ve seen him use 4-2-3-1, 3-4-3 and 5-3-2 already this season, the latter system placing a new emphasis on counter-attacking rather than Tottenham’s usual mantra of ball retention.
Which game-plan and formation would you use on Saturday?
Windy: He’s so tactically flexible now that it’ll basically depend on who is fit and available. I wouldn’t expect United to dominate possession against us by default, so the counter-attacking style we used against Dortmund, Real Madrid and Liverpool might not come into play, and as such my best guess is that we’ll revert to Harry Winks and Eric Dier together in midfield, with Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli just in front of them in a 3-4-3. But honestly, nothing surprises me with Pochettino this season. Heung-min Son, Fernando Llorente… Moussa Sissoko even. Any of them could start.
Perhaps Pochettino’s biggest dilemma is in the wing-back roles. Following a wealth of injury problems, Pochettino finally has all four options available to him for essentially the first time this season, while Son has featured as wing-back at times throughout his Spurs career as well.
Who would you start at Old Trafford?
Windy: I’d go with Ben Davies and Serge Aurier. Rose made his first start in midweek, and Aurier is much more dynamic than Kieran Trippier. But Trippier is in his best form for Spurs so I wouldn’t be too disappointed to see him play either.
The difference between the two is that Trippier excels at finding clever passes up the line and into the channels, whereas Aurier looks to make progress up the line, playing one-twos and finding teammates with cut-backs from the by-line. Each has their strengths, but Aurier’s extra pace against Marcus Rashford/Anthony Martial/Henrikh Mkhitaryan would be handy.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan was billed as a flagship talent when he arrived at Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund, but the Armenian international has struggled for consistency and since bagging five assists in August, he’s yet to provide a set-up in the Premier League despite featuring in all of United’s top flight fixtures thus far.
Would you drop him for the Tottenham clash?
Scott: Mkhitaryan must be dropped. His form has been poor for several weeks. Even when he was assisting goals all the time, which is obviously what he is there for, he would still go missing for large chunks of the game. Like many other fans, I’m desperate to see Mourinho start a front three of Martial, Lukaku and Rashford. I won’t hold my breath though.
Tottenham have been fantastic in recent weeks, holding Real Madrid to a draw at the Bernabeu before destroying Liverpool 4-1 at Wembley. But no team is perfect and the Lilywhites showed that when they slipped up against West Ham on Wednesday night.
What weaknesses do you think this United side can exploit?
Scott: Mourinho is tactically sound and will have had his eye on this game for a while. Spurs may be scoring for fun away from home, but United have a brilliant record at Old Trafford this season, so it’ll be interesting to see how both managers counteract each other. Mourinho will have watched Chelsea’s win over Spurs earlier this season, absorbing all the pressure and hitting them on the counter. There was no Plan B for Spurs that day.
We rarely think of Jose Mourinho teams as offensive sides and Tottenham will feel fairly confident at the back with only the two Manchester clubs conceding less goals than them so far this season. But the Red Devils’ attacking threats, not least including star striker Romelu Lukaku, simply can’t be ignored and only City have netted more times than United this term.
Which United player poses the biggest threat to Tottenham and why?
Windy: I’d have to say Rashford. He’s really gone up a level this last calendar year in my opinion – his flick to Jesse Lingard against Swansea was delicious, and showed just how confident he is at the moment. I feel fairly confident that Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld will have a good idea of how to play against Lukaku, given the Belgium connection. But Rashford is a wildcard, and his pace and directness worries me.
Finally lads, let’s hear your score predictions…
Scott: I’ll go with 1-1.
Windy: 1-2. I feel super-confident at the moment. The prediction is no disrespect to United, who I think look a very solid unit. Rather, it’s testament to how good I think we are – rarely in my life have I ever expected anything at Old Trafford.