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Manchester United host Tottenham Hotspur in a massive game in the Premier League, where both sides will be desperate for the three points to keep in contact with the top four. Join The Roar live from 1:15am (AEDT) Monday for all the action.
It’s fair to say that things haven’t exactly gone to plan for Jose Mourinho this season. He was hired by the United hierarchy in the summer to turn around three years of general malaise that had spread throughout the club. For his part the Portuguese brought with him a wealth of big club experience as well as a track history of winning. However, the beginning of his reign at Old Trafford has fallen well short of expectations.
Mourinho’s star players have failed to perform too often, injuries have ravaged the first team, fallings out with players and just about everyone else around has become the norm, while the managers own aura of success has somewhat diminished over the last two years. The fact that United have not won at home since their September defeat of champions Leicester City, and are already way off the pace at the top, is a marked contrast to what was expected from Mourinho’s side.
Meanwhile, their opponents have strung together two wins on the bounce, scoring eight goals in the meantime. So it seems that after going through a slump where they were only able to claim draws, Spurs have finally regained some momentum back. They may be out of the Champions League already and are seven points off top spot, but just as the busy festive period kicks into gear Mauricio Pochettino’s men have found form at the right time and will test United.
Harry Kane is a massive reason for this return to form, with the England striker banging in the goals. He was badly missed during his spell out of the side through injury, but now he is back spearheading Spurs’ attack they look like the impressive team which came close to winning the league last year. The fact that Toby Alderweireld is also set to return after almost two months on the sidelines will only serve to strengthen the spine further. They should improve defensively while also coupling that with a potent threat going forward.
For United, summer signing Henrihk Mkhitaryan is finally starting to emerge as the star that everyone expected him to be. The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder has had an incredibly frustrating and slow start to his career in Manchester, but he has featured in four out of the last five games for his new team and seems to have finally turned a corner, at least in his manager’s eyes. Along with the return to fitness of centre back Eric Bailly, the reason for renewed optimism around Old Trafford is clear.
Despite both side’s injury concerns lifting though, there still remains questions for each as they enter into the game. Can United finally turn their disappointing run of draws into the victories they need to climb up the table, or can Spurs continue with their recent good form against Mourinho’s men?
The London outfit have lost just twice in their last eight meetings in the league with United. It is a marked improvement on a record which used to horribly favour the side from Manchester. Indeed, from 2001 to 2012 they did not lose a game against Tottenham- a run of 22 consecutive matches.
A key element of the game will be whether or not United can handle the relentless pressing from the young Spurs team. Their ability to overwhelm their opponents with their strong running and desire to close down entire avenues of the pitch will put significant pressure on United’s midfielders. If they fail to work their way around the press, their backline will be severely tested with the intelligent runs from deep of Dele Alli and the strike power of Kane. Combined, United’s players have covered just 1490.6km overall this season which is the lowest in the league. That is something they will need to address if they are to cope with Pochettino’s tactics.
Prediction: This game has had a fair few draws in recent history so another one with both sides getting on the scoresheet looks a decent bet.
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