Match Preview : Manchester United v/s Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester United FC v/s Tottenham Hotspur FC

Old Trafford

Kick Off : 17:30 BST, 20:00 IST(Saturday, 29th Sep 2012),

Referee - Chris Foy

The Tottenham side will be riding high on confidence when they take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday. After losing the opener against Newcastle, Spurs are on a six game unbeaten run across all competitions, and have looked a much more slick and clinical side under the new manager. United, on the other hand, are on a six match winning run, with a four match winning streak in the league, but barring their 4-0 drubbing of Wigan, have not looked as convincing a team as one who is only behind Chelsea in the standings. But they have scooped up 4 more points than the Spurs, which is all that actually matters.

Both teams are coming into this match with a good win in the League Cup the past week.The last time these two faced off was at White Hart Lane,which resulted in a 3-1 victory for United.The corresponding reverse fixture in the previous season saw United winning 3-0 at home.

Team Preview:

Manchester United:

The most notable development has been the injury of winger Antonio Valencia. The Ecuador international picked up a bad knock against Liverpool,and, though Sir Alex has described him as “doubtful”,is, in all probabilities, going to miss this game.

Ferdinand and Evans look set to play the role of the full-backs,with Rafael and Buttner on the flanks.Vidic,Smalling and Jones are out with injury. Wootton did impress in the League Cup against clash against Newcastle,and may come off the bench in the later stages.

Carrick and Scholes are expected to start in the midfield.On the wings,Nani should play on the right and Kagawa may start on the left as a “false winger”, a role which the former Borussia Dortmund star has been playing with aplomb. And with Rooney having a good 75 minutes against Magpies, Ferguson would be tempted to finally put both him and Robin van Persie in the starting line-up. Injuries and lack of fitness have prevented this duo to start together, but if that happens, Spurs would have to do a lot more work to keep them at bay.

Manchester United (Possible, 4-2-3-1): Lindegaard; Rafael, Ferdinand, Evans, Buttner; Scholes, Carrick;Nani,Rooney, Kagawa; Van Persie.

Tottenham Hotspur:

When Andre Villas-Boas returns to Old Trafford, he would hope for a different outcome this time. His previous visit saw his former side Chelsea being completely overpowered in a 3-1 defeat, but he still insists that his team will play with an attacking mindset.”That is the way I like my teams to play,” the Spurs boss said. “We obviously know that it is extremely difficult there, but that doesn’t mean that you might not be given a chance when you play that (attacking) way.

When asked about whether the Spurs team will be able to beat United after failing in 22 previous attempts,he said, “We can’t run away from our responsibilities. The statistics are there. We hope to break them one day and hopefully it will be on Saturday.”

As far as the team composition is concerned,Brad Friedel will wear the gloves again. Lloris will be on the bench and defender Kyle Naughton could return after missing the last game against QPR due to a foot injury. Emmanuel Adebayor, Scott Parker, Jake Livermore, Benoît Assou-Ekotto and Younes Kaboul are out.

Gareth Bale and Jermain Defoe should start. AVB admitted that the gamble to play Bale in his former position hasn’t paid off, and that Bale won’t start in the back-four. Defoe is in fine form, and his style is going to trouble Ferdinand and Evans. The Englishman needs to find the net, if Spurs aim to take away something from this game.

Tottenham (Possible, 4-2-3-1): Friedel; Walker, Caulker,Gallas, Vertonghen; Sandro, Dembélé; Lennon,Sigurdsson, Bale; Defoe.

Prediction:

United have scored most goals in the league till now, along with Fulham, and the Dutchman is currently the highest goal scorer. Though things do look rosy for the Red Devils on the attacking side, their defence leaves a lot to be desired. Their shaky defence was exposed in narrow wins against Fulham and Southampton, and if Spurs have any chance to end up on the winning side at Old Trafford since 1989, they will have to exploit this weakness. The chances of a clean sheet for either of the teams looks too bleak, and whoever manages to convert those half-chances into goals will ultimately have the last laugh.

PREDICTION: Manchester United 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur