Tottenham vs Manchester United Match Preview: Kick-off Time, Team News, TV Channel and Score Prediction

Manchester United travel to North London to face Tottenham Hotspur in their second game of the Premier League season.

Competition: Premier League
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Kick Off: 17:30 UK Time
TV Channel: Sky Sports

How Do United Look?

United opened their 23/24 Premier League campaign with a 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford. Despite the win, United faced constant counter-attacks from Wolves, who had the better of the chances in the game.

Wolves consistently carried the ball through United’s midfield with Matheus Nunes, Joao Gomes and Matheus Cunha gliding past tackles and running into the open space that presented itself ahead of the back four.

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Casemiro was often left exposed in midfield due to poor positioning or lack of support from Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes. New signing Andre Onana had his work cut out for him on his Premier League debut as he faced many shots from Wolves attackers but the ex-Inter man was equal to all attempts. In possession, United’s players were below their usual standards with Fernandes, Luke Shaw and Alejandro Garnacho having uncharacteristically poor games. This made it hard for United to create anything substantial in the final third for much of the game.

Marcus Rashford started up front and was largely a peripheral figure in the match, looking frustrated at many points throughout. United’s attack finally clicked for the goal when Bruno Fernandes chipped a clever pass into Aaron Wan-Bissaka who had made an underlapping run into the penalty area before floating the ball across the six-yard box for Raphael Varane to head home.

Opposition: Tottenham Hotspur

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Spurs kicked off their Premier League campaign away to Brentford, coming away with a 2-2 draw. It was their first competitive match under new manager Ange Postecoglou and it was clear to see what the ex-Celtic man was trying to implement in this team with wide wingers and full-backs inverting into the half-spaces. Spurs looked good in possession and circulated the ball well to create spaces in Brentford’s block and create chances. However, they were vulnerable to the counter-attack. This could be something United look to exploit, especially with Erik ten Hag’s recent comments about wanting to become ‘the best transition team in the world’.

Summer signing James Maddison is one player to look out for in this new-look Spurs team. Maddison showed his creativity against Brentford, knitting play together nicely and creating chances for Spurs’ forward players. The Englishman registered two assists in the match, one coming from a high-quality set-piece delivery which United will have to be wary of on Saturday.

Prediction

United will need to perform a lot better than they did against Wolves if they want to get anything out of this match against Spurs. Another week on the training ground should prove beneficial to the squad to clean up some of the mistakes out of possession. United will also need their attacking players to perform at their usual level at the very least to create more chances on Saturday and they could be helped by Spurs’ vulnerability to counter-attacks.

Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Manchester United