Tottenham-Manchester United is a match valid for the thirty-third day of the Premier League and is played on Thursday at 9:15 pm: TV, formations, predictions.
In the Premier League the last two Champions League spots, in light of the results accrued over the weekend, seem to be already assigned. Unlikely, at this point, that anyone can undermine Newcastle and Manchester United, who will almost certainly keep Arsenal and Manchester City company in the next edition of the cup with the big ears.
Eddie Howe’s Magpies humiliated Tottenham with a 6-1 win without appeal, joining the Red Devils on 59 points, but they have one game less. The closest team at the moment is Aston Villa, which beat Fulham by a narrow margin two days ago, bypassing Spurs in fifth place. But the Villans have to make up a full five points on the Newcastle-Manchester United pair, a gap that could widen since Unai Emery’s men have played two more matches. Erik ten Hag’s team has a golden opportunity to make the gap to fifth place even wider in this midweek round, in which they will be staged right at home to Tottenham. For Spurs, after the hailstorm of goals conceded last Sunday, it is perhaps the last call to get back into the top four. On their bench against United will no longer be Cristian Stellini, who was exonerated 24 hours after the debacle at St. James’ Park. It will be up to Ryan Mason, who had already taken the reins at Tottenham two seasons ago when Jose Mourinho was sacked, to ferry the Londoners until June, while waiting for a new coach to arrive (in England these days there is persistent talk of former Bayern Munich Julian Nagelsmann).
Dramatic moment for Spurs
Spurs right now are -6 behind Manchester United and a defeat (or at any rate a non-win) would essentially put them out of the running.
Kane
The north London club continued to disappoint even after Antonio Conte parted ways during the last national team break and lost both of their last two matches. First the shocking 2-3 with Bournemouth, then the mortifying 6-1 loss at Newcastle. A situation that could become even more complicated if we consider that Liverpool and Brighton are also advancing menacingly behind. Qualification for the next European cups, in short, is no longer safe. Manchester United did not play in the league last weekend because they were engaged in the FA Cup semifinal with Brighton: the Red Devils came out on penalties, snatching a pass to the very final, where they will face City’s cousins. Not a memorable performance, in any case, that of Bruno Fernandes and his teammates, who probably suffered psychologically from the elimination from the Europa League by way of Sevilla.
The prediction
Tottenham is in crisis and in danger of staying out of the cups. Spurs have the third best attack in the league but at the back they continue to concede a lot of goals and have not kept their goal unbeaten since last February. However, we expect a proud performance against Manchester United, especially after the embarrassment with Newcastle. And it is not out of the question that they will at least manage to avoid defeat in a match at least one goal apart. Finally, the Red Devils could suffer from the probable absence of Bruno Fernandes.
The probable lineups of Tottenham-Manchester United
- TOTTENHAM (3-4-3): Forster; Romero, Dier, Davies; Pedro Porro, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Perisic; Kulusevski, Kane, Son.
- MANCHESTER UNITED (4-3-3): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Eriksen, Casemiro, Sabitzer; Antony, Martial, Rashford.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-2
