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Preview: Spurs looking to continue good run against Manchester United

Preview: Spurs looking to continue good run against Manchester United

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It’s a repeat of the Europa League final at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday lunchtime as Spurs take on Manchester United, and hopefully it’ll be a better game than that was.

By Ian King

Neither Spurs nor Manchester United are the finished article yet

If there’s one thing that can be said for both Spurs and Manchester United ahead of this match, it’s that both teams are more serious than they were at the end of last season. Neither are the finished article yet. Spurs have done pretty well in terms of results, but have stood accused of flattering to deceive in terms of performances. Manchester United started as weakly as they ended last season but have improved in recent weeks, as though Ruben Amorim’s plan is starting to come together. But it remains the case that neither team are entirely predictable yet.

Spurs set a record against Manchester United in 2024-25

Spurs set an unwelcome record for Manchester United last season in becoming the first team ever to beat them four times in one season; both matches in the League, in the Carabao Cup and in the Europa League final. But their good record against United doesn’t end there. It’s been eight games since United last won this fixture, and that takes us back to October 2022.

H2H results last season

Manchester United’s route to success in this game will start with stopping Spurs’ pace

The talk of The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this week has, of course, been Micky van de Ven, whose “Run, Forrest, run!” goal against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League was reminiscent of Son Heung-min’s Puskas Award-winning goal against Burnley in December 2019. Van de Ven is an unusual player, injury-prone yet capable of being a cheat code three or four times a season, and he can hurt Manchester United both defensively and when he turns up in attacking positions. 

As a Thomas Frank team, Spurs break quickly, so Manchester United’s central defence will need to be on top of their game. As such, United could need to be on their toes and that should mean a busy Saturday lunchtime for Matthijs de Ligt, who’s been accused of being “too slow” in the past but can put in a decent sprint when the mood takes him.

Will this match be time for the grand return of Lisandro Martínez?

Spurs still have an injury list the length of a chimpanzee’s arm, featuring James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin, Yves Bissouma, Archie Gray, Kota Takai and Lucas Bergvall, who will all be absent. There’s better news on the Mohammed Kudus front, though. He missed the Copenhagen match after picking up a knock, but should return for this one. 

Manchester United’s attention with regard to injury and suspension is focused entirely on one player. Lisandro Martínez hasn’t kicked a ball in anger for them since February, but is due to return imminently, though whether Ruben Amorim decides to give him an extra couple of weeks for fine-tuning over the forthcoming international break remains open to question. 

Spurs & Manchester United are improved upon last season, but both remain mildly unpredictable

If the 2025 Europa League final was a demonstration of where these two teams were at that moment in time, so will this match be a test of the progress that both have made since then. Spurs were dismal against Chelsea last weekend, as evinced by the enthusiastic booing they received at the final whistle. 

But while FC Copenhagen were hardly the most testing of opponents during the week, a 4-0 home win in the Champions League has quelled much of the steam that was starting to emerge from the ears of Spurs fans following last weekend’s debacle against Chelsea. 

Manchester United, meanwhile, are much improved in attacking positions this season. But, as may have been guessed from them spending a ton of money on attacking options during the summer while completely ignoring their defence, they still have a soft underbelly that can be attacked, as Nottingham Forest demonstrated with their two goals in five minutes last weekend.

Spurs and Manchester United have both made progress since the end of last season. They’ve both moved from “predictably bad” to “decent yet slightly unpredictable”, and going into this match in 6th and 8th places in the Premier League respectively is more like where both may realistically expect to end this season. 

But on this occasion, the pace that Spurs have in attacking positions is a clear threat to the Manchester United central defence, and that may prove to be the tipping point between the two on this occasion. I’ll go for Spurs to win 2-1, but as remains the case with these two teams, it could really go either way. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Preview: Spurs looking to continue good run against Manchester United

It’s a repeat of the Europa League final at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday lunchtime as Spurs take on Manchester United, and hopefully it’ll be a better game than that was.

By Ian King

Neither Spurs nor Manchester United are the finished article yet

If there’s one thing that can be said for both Spurs and Manchester United ahead of this match, it’s that both teams are more serious than they were at the end of last season. Neither are the finished article yet. Spurs have done pretty well in terms of results, but have stood accused of flattering to deceive in terms of performances. Manchester United started as weakly as they ended last season but have improved in recent weeks, as though Ruben Amorim’s plan is starting to come together. But it remains the case that neither team are entirely predictable yet.

Spurs set a record against Manchester United in 2024-25

Spurs set an unwelcome record for Manchester United last season in becoming the first team ever to beat them four times in one season; both matches in the League, in the Carabao Cup and in the Europa League final. But their good record against United doesn’t end there. It’s been eight games since United last won this fixture, and that takes us back to October 2022.

H2H results last season

Manchester United’s route to success in this game will start with stopping Spurs’ pace

The talk of The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this week has, of course, been Micky van de Ven, whose “Run, Forrest, run!” goal against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League was reminiscent of Son Heung-min’s Puskas Award-winning goal against Burnley in December 2019. Van de Ven is an unusual player, injury-prone yet capable of being a cheat code three or four times a season, and he can hurt Manchester United both defensively and when he turns up in attacking positions. 

As a Thomas Frank team, Spurs break quickly, so Manchester United’s central defence will need to be on top of their game. As such, United could need to be on their toes and that should mean a busy Saturday lunchtime for Matthijs de Ligt, who’s been accused of being “too slow” in the past but can put in a decent sprint when the mood takes him.

Will this match be time for the grand return of Lisandro Martínez?

Spurs still have an injury list the length of a chimpanzee’s arm, featuring James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin, Yves Bissouma, Archie Gray, Kota Takai and Lucas Bergvall, who will all be absent. There’s better news on the Mohammed Kudus front, though. He missed the Copenhagen match after picking up a knock, but should return for this one. 

Manchester United’s attention with regard to injury and suspension is focused entirely on one player. Lisandro Martínez hasn’t kicked a ball in anger for them since February, but is due to return imminently, though whether Ruben Amorim decides to give him an extra couple of weeks for fine-tuning over the forthcoming international break remains open to question. 

Spurs & Manchester United are improved upon last season, but both remain mildly unpredictable

If the 2025 Europa League final was a demonstration of where these two teams were at that moment in time, so will this match be a test of the progress that both have made since then. Spurs were dismal against Chelsea last weekend, as evinced by the enthusiastic booing they received at the final whistle. 

But while FC Copenhagen were hardly the most testing of opponents during the week, a 4-0 home win in the Champions League has quelled much of the steam that was starting to emerge from the ears of Spurs fans following last weekend’s debacle against Chelsea. 

Manchester United, meanwhile, are much improved in attacking positions this season. But, as may have been guessed from them spending a ton of money on attacking options during the summer while completely ignoring their defence, they still have a soft underbelly that can be attacked, as Nottingham Forest demonstrated with their two goals in five minutes last weekend.

Spurs and Manchester United have both made progress since the end of last season. They’ve both moved from “predictably bad” to “decent yet slightly unpredictable”, and going into this match in 6th and 8th places in the Premier League respectively is more like where both may realistically expect to end this season. 

But on this occasion, the pace that Spurs have in attacking positions is a clear threat to the Manchester United central defence, and that may prove to be the tipping point between the two on this occasion. I’ll go for Spurs to win 2-1, but as remains the case with these two teams, it could really go either way. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.