Manchester United v Tottenham: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch

Manchester United-Tottenham preview

Two of the Premier League’s biggest spenders, two of its most disappointing starters. Manchester United i Tottenham they meet at Old Trafford on Saturday evening with a combined seven points from 10 games between them, and both managers know that a defeat here will increase the volume of noise around them.

United’s fall is the more surprising of the two. Michael Carrick dragged them to third place last season after taking over in January, but five points from his first five games is the club’s lowest tally at this stage of a top-flight campaign. They lost 2-0 at Hull on the opening day, thrashed Ipswich 5-2, drew 2-2 at Everton, lost 1-0 at home to a Manchester City side that spent a long season with 10 men and needed an 89th-minute equalizer from Matheus Cunha to draw 1-1 at Fulham.

Throw in a 3-2 EFL Cup defeat at home to Brighton, a game United led by two first-half goals, and it’s four domestic games without a win. Defense is the big concern. His only clean sheet in seven games in all competitions came in a 4-0 Champions League win against Sabah, and he has netted at least twice in four of those games. Carrick insists he doesn’t mind the speculation but will know the margin for error is shrinking.

If United are struggling, Tottenham are in real crisis territory. Spurs survived relegation on the final day of last season, finished 17th for the second year running and then spent more than £300m rebuilding their squad. Mateus Fernandes arrived from West Ham for a club-record £85m before Sandro Tonali broke that record again, joining from Newcastle in a deal that could reach £100m.

At the moment, the return has been two points in five days and they are at the bottom of the table. It’s the first time since 2008-09 that Spurs have bottomed after five games. They lost 3-0 at Brentford on the opening day, drew 0-0 with Everton and Nottingham Forest, lost 2-0 at Newcastle and then went down 3-2 at home to Aston Villa before the break.

Defeat on Saturday would be the fourth time in club history that Spurs have failed to win any of their opening six league games. However, there is a spring of comfort for visitors. Roberto De Zerbi won on his last visit to Old Trafford with Brighton in 2023, and Spurs have won four of the last six meetings between these sides.

Premier League table

Manchester United v Tottenham Team News

Michael Carrick gave a mixed media update on Manchester United’s fitness woes.

The Red Devils manager revealed that Carlos Baleba is closing in on his first appearance for the club after joining from Brighton in the summer, with the midfielder training during the international break.

The same goes for Amad Diallo, who could also be part of the matchday squad against Spurs.

However, the hosts will be without injured Benjamin Sesko, Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu.

Marcus Rashford is also close to playing, although Kobbie Mainoo’s knock may keep him out.

In the Tottenham camp, there is good news regarding Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul Van Hecke, both of whom are available despite picking up knocks on international duty for the Netherlands.

Dejan Kulusevski is traveling with the squad but will not make the bench on this occasion but could be in line to return against Coventry next week.

James Maddison is available for the visitors but Pedro Porro remains out after tweaking his hamstring against Aston Villa.

Expected line-ups for Manchester United-Tottenham

Manchester United: Lammens, Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw, Tielemans, Santos, Mbeumo, Fernandes, Diallo, Cunha

Tottenham: Kinsky, Gray, Van Hecke, Van de Ven, Udogie, Tonali, Bentancur, Savio, Gallagher, Marmoush, Solanke

Manchester United v Tottenham recent form and stats

• Manchester United’s five points from five games is their joint-lowest tally at this stage of a top-flight season, equaling 2014-15.
• United have won just one of their last nine meetings with Tottenham (D3 L5).
• That win was a 2-0 win at Old Trafford in February, with Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes scoring.
• Bruno Fernandes has scored three of his four goals against Spurs at Old Trafford
• Tottenham are bottom of the Premier League after five games for the first time since 2008-09
• Spurs are one of three teams in the Premier League yet to win this season, along with Bournemouth and Fulham
• Dominic Solanke has scored three goals in his last four games against Manchester United
• Tottenham have not won any of their last 48 games in all competitions in which they conceded the first goal.

Where to watch Manchester United-Tottenham: TV and online streaming

Manchester United v Tottenham kicks off at 17:30 BST on Saturday 10 October at Old Trafford.

The match is live on Sky Sports in the UK in the Saturday evening slot. Subscribers can also stream it on the Sky Go app.

Details of the global issue can be found at premierleague.com.

Manchester United – Tottenham Prediction

Desperation from both sides could lead to a thrilling game. United’s weakness is their defence, but we believe their creative players, led by Bruno Fernandes, can turn that around.

Manchester United

2-1

Tottenham