Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United will be desperate for a win when they clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday.
The curtains will fall on Gameweek 33 of the 2022/23 Premier League season will fall on Thursday. Three matches will complete the latest round of fixtures, with the action on the day ending with the game between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
2022/23 has been a disastrous season thus far for Tottenham Hotspur. The North London club came into the campaign after securing a top-four finish last term. And they would have hoped to end Antonio Conte’s first full season with silverware.
But the Italian manager left his job in mutiny last month after a sensational rant following a draw with Southampton. Cristian Stellini, formerly Conte’s assistant, replaced his compatriot at the helm. But Tottenham relieved him of his duties this week after a horrendous performance against Newcastle United last weekend. And Ryan Mason will be the caretaker manager until the end of the season.
As for Manchester United, the Red Devils have enjoyed a solid 2022/23 campaign thus far, making considerable progress under Erik ten Hag. They have already won the EFL Cup and reached the FA Cup final this past weekend, beating Brighton & Hove Albion on penalties. And Manchester United will now focus on securing a top-four finish in the coming weeks.
The reverse fixture saw Manchester United clinch a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, with Fred and Bruno Fernandes finding the back of the net. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Tottenham Hotspur
“We want to get the fans with us. The only way to do that is to put in performances that warrant that.”
Ryan Mason faces the media ahead of #TOTMUN 🗣
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 26, 2023
Ryan Mason has greeted a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against Manchester United on Thursday, the Tottenham Hotspur caretaker manager will be bereft of the services of five first-team players.
The good news is that Lucas Moura is available after serving a suspension. But Hugo Lloris will be unavailable after sustaining a hip injury against Newcastle United this past weekend. The French goalkeeper has joined Emerson Royal (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Yves Bissouma (ankle), and Rodrigo Bentancur (knee) on the sidelines.
Lloris’s absence means Fraser Forster will deputise between the sticks on Thursday. And Tottenham Hotspur will line up in a 3-4-3 formation in front of the experienced shot-stopper after the new system failed miserably on the weekend.
Cristian Romero, Eric Dier, and Ben Davies should form the central defensive unit, with Clement Lenglet blowing hot and cold. And Romero and Dier will need to step up after looking clueless against the Newcastle United attack.
Emerson and Sessegnon’s absence means Pedro Porro and Ivan Perisic are automatic picks as the wing-backs. The duo will have the freedom to express themselves in the final third, with their output holding the key. Meanwhile, the two players will likely flank Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp in the middle of the park.
Finally, the offensive unit should feature the Manchester United-linked Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, and Dejan Kulusevski. So Richarlison and Arnaut Danjuma will be options on the bench for Mason in the second half.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Forster; Romero, Dier, Davies; Porro, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Perisic; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Manchester United
Like his counterpart in the Tottenham Hotspur dugout, Erik ten Hag has a new concern hampering his preparations ahead of the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Manchester United boss might be without as many as eight first-team players on Thursday.
The Dutch tactician is particularly sweating over the fitness of Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese international sustained an ankle injury against Brighton & Hove Albion. And ten Hag has failed to confirm his availability for the trip to London.
Scott McTominay’s availability is also “touch and go”, with the 26-year-old unlikely to start on Thursday. Meanwhile, Tom Heaton (ankle), Lisandro Martinez (foot), Raphael Varane (ankle), Phil Jones (knee), Donny van de Beek (knee), and Alejandro Garnacho (ankle) remain on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
⏳ Bruno Fernandes
Erik ten Hag says the fitness of their midfielder ahead of the Tottenham game is still a "question mark" 🔴 pic.twitter.com/reZgilasY7
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 26, 2023
There is no looking past David de Gea between the sticks, with Manchester United lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him. And Harry Maguire will return to the defensive unit after missing the FA Cup semi-final due to suspension. The Englishman will form the central defensive partnership alongside Victor Lindelof, with Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka being the full-backs.
As for the midfield unit, Bruno Fernandes’s potential inability to start means Marcel Sabitzer will return. The Austrian international will take up advanced positions on the pitch, with Christian Eriksen and Casemiro pulling the strings from deeper areas.
Sabitzer will also pose a goal threat, taking some goalscoring responsibilities off Marcus Rashford. Speaking of Rashford, the Englishman is an automatic pick on the left flank, with Antony featuring on the right wing. Finally, Anthony Martial will spearhead the Manchester United attack against Tottenham.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): de Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Eriksen, Casemiro, Sabitzer; Antony, Martial, Rashford
Key Stats
- Tottenham have lost their most recent four Premier League games against Manchester United, last having a longer losing run against them between September 2001 and September 2004 (7). Meanwhile, the Red Devils have won 39 Premier League games against Tottenham. No side has beaten an opponent more often in the competition
- Manchester United have lost just one of their last 15 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Premier League games (W9 D5) and are unbeaten in all seven such matches this season (W5 D2).
- None of Tottenham’s last 26 Premier League home games have ended in a stalemate (W18 L8). Meanwhile, none of their last 108 at home has finished goalless. That is the longest run any team has had without a 0-0 draw at home in the competition, while the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (78 games) is one of just three grounds never to see a goalless draw in the Premier League (also Burnden Park and Oakwell, 19 matches each).
- Manchester United have won their last three Premier League games by an aggregate score of 5-0. They have not won 4+ in a row without conceding within the same campaign since a run of six in February/March 2013 in their final season under Sir Alex Ferguson.
- Harry Kane has scored 99 Premier League home goals for Tottenham and could be the first player to reach a century in both home and away games in the competition. He has netted five league goals against Manchester United, but his only one at home came in the final match at White Hart Lane in May 2017.
Player to Watch
Marcus Rashford
It was not long ago that Marcus Rashford was the most in-form player in the world. He was scoring goals at will and won the Premier League Player of the Month award for January and February. But his form has nosedived in the last few weeks, with strikes coming at a premium.
Having scored ten goals in his first ten Premier League appearances following the World Cup break, Rashford has now found the back of the net just once in his last five outings. In addition, only three of his 15 league strikes overall this term have come away from home. The Englishman needs to right these wrongs to inspire Manchester United to a crucial win over Tottenham.
Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Manchester United
Tottenham cannot afford any more slip-ups in the top-four race. They are already six points adrift of Newcastle United and Manchester United, so there is no more margin of error left. But the North London giants have won just three of their last 21 Premier League home games against the Red Devils (D7 L11).
However, the hosts will take heart from Manchester United’s horrendous defensive record on the road. The Red Devils have conceded 29 away goals in the Premier League this season, only ever shipping more on the road in a single campaign last term (35). And their creative output will suffer if Bruno Fernandes does not start.
So Tottenham will have a window of opportunity to exploit Manchester United’s vulnerabilities. But with things going helter-skelter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Manchester United should pounce. And The Hard Tackle predicts Erik ten Hag’s charges to pick up a win with the odd goal in three.