Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United: Preview & Prediction

Tottenham Hotspur entertain a resurgent Manchester United in what promises to be a gripping encounter to be contested at White Hart Lane. Tottenham themselves have experienced an upturn in fortunes in recent games and will be hoping to extract atleast a point from the fixture against Louis Van Gaal's men.

Wayne Rooney put on a radiant display in United's Boxing Day victory over Newcastle United and will be hoping to carry his rich vein of form in the match against the Lillywhites. But, here is one statistic which could deter him and his side on Sunday afternoon - Tottenham are unbeaten in their last four Premier League fixtures against Manchester United.

Louis Van Gaal's men have enjoyed a prodigious run of form, winning seven of the last eight fixtures they've played in. Although, Mauricio Pochettino's men have been on a run of their own having won their last four games in all competitions and the last three, incidentally, by 1-2 scorelines.

United's talismanic captain will be hoping to inflict sorrow on the White Hart Lane outfit with another top-drawer display - the British striker has scored nine times in thirteen appearences against them. However, Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen have been performing brilliantly for Spurs too. The duo scored both the goals on Boxing Day as Tottenham overcame a struggling Leicester City 1-2 in soggy conditions.

Quite interestingly, even though both the sides involved in this fixture have been grinding out positive results of late, their performamces haven't been entirely plausible. A win for United would help them to further consolidate their grip on third spot and remain hot on the heels of Manchester City and Chelsea, whereas three points for Spurs could catapult them into the top four and avoid mid-table obscurity.

?Venue and Kick-off

White Hart Lane – 5.30 PM IST.

Possible lineups

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Walker, Fazio, Vertonghen, Davies; Mason, Bentaleb; Lamela, Eriksen, Chadli; Kane.

undefined — Harry Kane has been in sublime touch of late and will be a threat to the inconsistent United backline.

After being left bloodied towards the end of the final whistle at the King Power stadium through a Jamie Vardy challenge which went horribly wrong, Hugo Lloris is expected to feature for Spurs. The Frenchman was caught in the face by a tackle commited by Vardy but has recovered in time for the fixture.

Ryan Mason made a second half apperance at Leicester after successfully recovering from an amkle injury and is expected to be in contention for a first team spot against Van Gaal's men. Kyle Walker has reestablished his spot at right-back after overcoming a long injury lay off.

Manchester United (3-5-2): De Gea; Smalling, Jones, Evans; Valencia, Rooney, Carrick, Mata, Young; Falcao, Van Persie.

United's £60 million man Angel Di Maria is a major doubt for the trip to north-London after suffering a pelvis problem in training on Christmas Eve. However, he hasn't been entirely ruled out just yet. Meanwhile Belgian duo Marouane Fellaini and Adnan Januzaj are set to miss the match due to a virus, as described by Van Gaal in his press conference.

Versatile Dutch midfielder Daley Blind is set to miss the encounter with a knee problem, whereas Argentine center-back Marcos Rojo has been ruled out due to a thigh problem.

Long-term absentee Luke Shaw and Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera are aiming for potential comebacks and could make the bench. Chris Smalling is expected to be available for a first team spot after making the bench against Newcastle.

Facts & Stats

After going 22 Premier League games without a win against Man Utd, Spurs have won two of the last four (W2 D2 L0).
Spurs have won none of their last 13 Premier League games against the Red Devils at White Hart Lane (W0 D5 L8).
United have lost just one of their last 18 Premier League away games in London (W11 D6 L1).
The Red Devils have won just two of their last 10 on the road in the top flight (W2 D5 L3), but are unbeaten in their last three (W2 D1).
Six of the last eight Premier League away goals Wayne Rooney has scored have been netted in London.
The first game of this 13 match run without a win saw Spurs leading 3-0 at half-time before a United comeback resulted in a 3-5 final score (September 2001).
Manchester United have kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 Premier League away games.
Tottenham have scored just seven goals in their last eight Premier League games at White Hart Lane.

Key Battles

Harry Kane vs Phil Jones

“Mentally, we were beat before we stepped out on to the pitch when we were up against a bigger-name team. This isn’t the case anymore.

“Even so, let’s not kid ourselves – they’re still tough games. We still have to perform on the pitch, and that’s what we’re looking to do, starting with our next two games against Manchester United and then Chelsea.”

These were the words of 21-year old hot ticket Harry Kane ahead of his sides mammoth showdown against Manchester United. Home-grown Kane, who was overlooked at the beginning of the campaign by Pochettino has gone onto become a mainstay in the Spurs starting eleven over the past couple of months or so and is enjoying every bit of it.

The English striker has scored 15 goals in all competitions this season already and is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. His industrious partnership with the supremely talented Dane Christian Eriksen is reaping benefits for his manager and the confident youngster will surely be buoyed by the prospect of scoring, and consequently beating United in his own backyard.

Seen by many as probably the best central defender at United this season, Phil Jones' performances this season have added solidity to the statement mentioned above. Standing as an absolute rock at the heart of United's defense this season, the 22-year old is finally maturing into a first-team mainstay after depicting tons of promise over the course of 3-4 years. His commendable concentration, fearless approach and ability to step up to the plate are reminiscent of a certain Nemanja Vidic and the Red Devils will be hoping that the English defender grows in stature to eventually emulate the Serb at the Theatre Of Dreams.

On Sunday, he will be pitted against Harry Kane who is surely going to be a hard nut to crack. Jones definitely posseses the pace to match Kane in the outfield and given the kind of form both are experiencing this season, the contest is promises to be a fascinating one

Wayne Rooney vs Jan Vertonghen

Probably in the best vein of form of his career, Wayne Rooney looks like he could play anywhere on the pitch at this moment in time. The striker has been in red hot form this season racking up 8 goals in the Premier League this season despite playing in a withdrawn role. History suggests we're in for more of the same on Sunday against Pochettino's men. Rooney enjoys a superb record against Tottenham having scored nine times in thirteen Premier League appearences against the Lillywhites. Six of those nine goals have come at White Hart Lane and if he is to continue the marvellous record, the 29-year old must overcome Jan Vertonghen.

The Belgian hasn't had a good campaign so far and was at the centre of two controversial decisions against Leicester on Friday. However, with the arrival of Fazio, Vertonghen has seemingly begun to perform well and the two have shown traces of forming a solid partnership at the back. The duo will have its work cut out on Friday as they face the gargantuan task of keeping the likes of Rooney, Van Persie and Falcao at bay. If anything, this fixture will definitely give us a fair idea as to whether the two possess the abilities to form a sturdy partnership at the heart of Tottenham's defense.

Match Official

John Moss.

Prediction

Both the teams involved in this fixture have experienced positive results of late and will be hoping to overpower each other. United have had the upper hand in this fixture traditionally, however Spurs have turned the tide in recent times.

The Lillywhites are unbeaten in the last four fixtures against United although the Old Trafford outfit has enjoyed a prodigious hsitory at White Hart Lane. I expect an entertaining yet tough game and believe that United will edge past the host's with a 1-2 victory, with Kane, Rooney and Falcao getting on the scoresheet.