Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United are in deep trouble, and they need to find a solution to their defensive woes when they play the rising Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford this week.
The pressure is certainly increasing on Jose Mourinho and his charges after splitting their first two games with a win and defeat. And sure enough, they can ill afford to lose their match this week if they want to stay at the top level and compete for the title or even the European places.
Tottenham are still undefeated, so a win for the Red Devils would be a welcome boost as Mourinho tries to steer the United ship to the right direction. However, that job is easier said than done, particularly with the Premier League Man United vs Spurs offers at SBOBET pointing to a tight affair.
Talking Points
It hasn’t been a good start for Manchester United, and their 3-2 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion last week highlighted their biggest problem: defence.
The Red Devils have now conceded four goals after just two games, including one in their opening win against Leicester City. Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly have specifically failed to impress, especially in their loss to Brighton that saw the two defenders make numerous errors that led to direct goals.
Now, Mourinho is up to the tough task of deciding whether to stick with the two or tinker his lineup and instead give a chance to the likes of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and the returning Marcos Rojo—whose goal for Argentina against Nigeria remains one of the best highlights of the tournament.
Lindelof and Bailly remain the best options for Mourinho though, so it will be interesting to see how the Portuguese manager will line up his squad against the Spurs. After all, the 55-year-old boss tends to play more defensively against top-four teams.
Man United and Tottenham Hotspur have taken turns winning their games in their last five head-to-head games. Will the Red Devils be able to win straight games in the Theatre of Dreams?#MUFC #COYS pic.twitter.com/DEuuJCk0ce
— SBOBET (@SBOBET) August 26, 2018
One good news for Manchester United and their fans is the return of three key players. Alexis Sanchez, Antonio Valencia and Nemanja Matic are all set to recover in time for the match at Old Trafford, and their presence will surely be a massive boost to the team.
Valencia and Matic are both key members of the United defence that recorded the second-best “goals against” tally in the league last campaign, so hopes are high that they can get things together at the back when they return.
Meanwhile, Sanchez was spectacular for United during the pre-season. And while the Chilean forward had a sub-par performance for the club in their opening fixture, his offensive threat and speed were sorely missed in the Brighton game.
For Tottenham, they will rely on their offence and stability to pile more misery on their top-four rivals. They are coming off a 3-1 win over Fulham, and they are undoubtedly brimming with confidence after seeing their star man Harry Kane score his first-ever goal in the month of August.
Mauricio Pochettino didn’t make any transfer or signing this past window, but that seems to be a good move now as the Spurs continue to show great chemistry—with their core group having played the last three years together.
The only issue for Tottenham right now is skipper and top-choice keeper Hugo Lloris. The Frenchman was arrested for drink-driving last week, giving the club an unnecessary distraction before the important match.
While Lloris is expected to feature against United, there are concerns how the recent incident will affect his relationship with the team. Besides, there are reports that Tottenham are thinking of punishing the World Cup-winning keeper.
History
The previous Man United vs Spurs results show the Red Devils as the more dominant team. However, Tottenham’s resurgence in recent years has stopped that trend. In fact, in their last six meetings, they won three each.
Interestingly though, the Spurs haven’t won at Old Trafford in that six-game stretch. They also lost their last three Premier League games in the arena by a 1-0 scoreline.
The last time Tottenham won a league game at Manchester United was in 2014 when the Red Devils were still under David Moyes.
Moreover, Kane also has a poor record against the Mancunians. The Englishman has already played against United eight times but has only scored two goals.
Betting Tips
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Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur | Over 2.50 @ 2.07 |
| August 28, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
The Man United-Spurs betting odds give Mourinho’s men the slight advantage, but it’s still hard to see them winning given their defensive instability. Problems like that just don’t go away overnight, anyway.
I believe the match can go either way, considering that Tottenham failed to keep a clean sheet as well. There’s also the Lloris issue they need to address.
With that said, I predict that goals—at least three—will come in what I expect to be a tightly contested affair.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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