Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur – Preview

At last, three agonising months are drawing to a close, as the new Premier League season comes to within touching distance of fans across the globe. Off the back of a solid pre-season, how will Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur fare at big-spending Manchester United?

Our beloved Argentine boss has been fairly secretive in the past few months, scheduling various behind-closed-doors friendlies instead of travelling to stadiums. It’s thought that this was done so that he could work closely with the players regarding his tactics and philosophy, whilst the club were able to profit financially and in terms of reputation with our appearances at the MLS All-Star Game and the Audi Cup.

Nonetheless, the team appears to be progressing well, with new signings Toby Alderweireld and Dele Alli slotting well into the side during our public showings. It’s believed that the squad won’t actually return to England until Friday, and after playing twice in Munich this week, one wonders just how much this could affect our performance vs United.

If our display vs Real Madrid is anything to go by, we could very well take at least a point from Old Trafford. We contained and pressured the Spanish giants for all 90 minutes, and, sticking to the status quo, only conceded due to defensive errors. Los Blancos very rarely threatened, and often resorted to playing deep to try and minimise our attacking threat.

However, United pose a stronger threat, considering home advantage and the competitiveness of Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off. The Red Devils’ pre-season has been quite successful too, as Louis van Gaal’s men won three of their four International Champions Cup matches, including a 3-1 triumph over European champions FC Barcelona.

Furthermore, whilst we thought our signings have provided solidity, United’s have added a new dimension of quality and depth. Players like Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay can certainly go on to become United icons over the second half of this decade, and the experience of Bayern Munich legend Bastian Schweinsteiger could help them in pursuit of the Premier League title.

This fixture last season was arguably our worst performance under Pochettino, but our team is young and will learn from their mistakes – let’s not forget, we won our previous two games at Old Trafford. Our record vs Manchester United since the turn of the century is nothing short of abysmal, winning just three of our thirty-five encounters, compared to their twenty-four triumphs.

Manchester United were involved in last season’s curtain opener, suffering a 1-2 loss at the hands of Swansea City, with former Spur Gylfi Sigurdsson grabbing the winner. On the contrary, we recorded a memorable 0-1 win at West Ham United. Since 2010, we’ve won just two of our five opening day fixtures, whereas United have claimed three of five possible victories.

The team fielded in our 2-0 win over AC Milan was much changed from the one that played against Real Madrid, so we may see more of those that played on Tuesday.

Thankfully Hugo Lloris returned from his wrist injury in Munich, but may be only on the bench at Old Trafford.
At right back, Kyle Walker put in a solid performance against Real Madrid, and so is likely to start on Saturday. Alongside him, the Belgian duo of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen look set to start competitively for the first time at club level since 2012. Danny Rose at left back seems inevitable, following an impressive 2014/15 season.

As it stands, Nabil Bentaleb appears to be our only central midfielder guaranteed a starting spot, with two possible partners whilst our search for a defensive midfielder goes on – Dele Alli and Eric Dier. Despite playing his entire career in League One, Alli announced himself to the world on Tuesday with a fine performance vs Real Madrid. Along with his infamous nutmegs to Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, the English starlet showed off an impressive passing range and desire to burst forward. However, Eric Dier would provide a more defensive option; on Tuesday, he would slot in beside the centre backs to allow Walker and Rose to maraud forward. Dier’s composure on the ball is worrying though, and his lack of composure was highlighted in this fixture last season. However, his physical and defensive edge in a fixture such as this should see him land the spot.

Despite arguably being our best player in the last ten games of last season, a lack of match fitness and game practice showed during Erik Lamela’s appearances at the Audi Cup. It’s likely that this was rustiness due to his extended break, and so I’d imagine he’ll feature from the bench in this clash. Mousa Dembele will likely start at right wing then, as he looks to build on some decent pre-season performances in that role.

Our three top scorers from last season will therefore fill the remaining roles – Christian Eriksen as the number 10, Nacer Chadli on the left wing, and Harry Kane (who is rumoured to be under a transfer bid from Manchester United) up top.

Louis van Gaal claims he will be using a 4-3-3 at Manchester United this season – a formation that deeply troubled us back in March. The combination of Marouane Fellaini’s strength, Ander Herrera’s technique and Michael Carrick’s discipline overwhelmed Tottenham, restricting us to few chances. With Schneiderlin and Depay likely to make their competitive debuts too, we could be in for a long day.

Thankfully, van Gaal has ruled David De Gea out of the game, amidst fresh transfer speculation, meaning the rather eccentric Sergio Romero could start between the sticks for United.

Considering fatigue and the strength of United’s team, a defeat is expected. Anything more than that though could kick start what could be a great season for Tottenham Hotspur.

Predicted XI: Vorm; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Bentaleb; Dembele, Eriksen, Chadli; Kane