James Mason’s selections for Sunday’s clash at Old Trafford include a positive result for Spurs with Brennan Johnson finding the net.
Two teams who appear to be heading in opposite directions clash at Old Trafford on Sunday as struggling Manchester United host in-form Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
United have failed to win three of their last four league matches and Erik ten Hag’s men also let a 1-0 lead slip at home to FC Twente in the Europa League on Wednesday to draw 1-1.
Spurs, on the other hand, have started to find form again, impressing with a 3-1 victory over Brentford last weekend before a 3-0 Europa League triumph over Qarabag stretched their winning run to three matches in all competitions.
Selections
Tottenham draw no bet
5/4
Brennan Johnson to score any time
23/10
Under 4.5 total cards
19/20
Red Devils’ struggles look set to continue
Pressure was building on both Ten Hag and Ange Postecoglou after slow starts to the season but, of the pair, it’s the United manager who most needs a positive result from his team.
The Red Devils suffered a 3-0 home hammering at the hands of Liverpool in their last league match at Old Trafford before a road win by the same scoreline at Southampton papered over the cracks.
The summer additions of Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Manuel Ugarte have made the United squad stronger but last week’s goalless draw at Crystal Palace was cause for concern and Ten Hag’s stock fell again in the midweek stalemate with Twente.
Co-owner Jim Ratcliffe will soon have to weigh up whether the Dutchman is the right man to take the club forward and a defeat at home to Spurs could hasten his decision.
Tottenham struggled to get going at the start of the campaign and looked toothless in front of goal but new signing Dominic Solanke is beginning to find top gear and Spurs have improved with a number of key players returning to fitness.
Heung-min Son limped out of Thursday’s clash with Qarabag but the Tottenham skipper will hope to be fit for this contest, which affords a big chance for Spurs to post a first away victory of the campaign.
Confident Johnson can trouble the hosts
Solanke is starting to fire on all cylinders and so too is his strike partner Brennan Johnson, who could prove the pick of Tottenham’s forwards in the anytime goalscorer market.
The 23-year-old Welshman has needed time to adjust to life in north London but he’s found the net in Spurs’ last three matches and should be full of confidence for this trip north.
Johnson has taken 15 shots this season, including six in last week’s win against Brentford.
Card count could stay low
While it is possible that tempers could flare in Manchester, it could still pay to take a chance on referee Chris Kavanagh showing fewer than five cards in the match.
Kavanagh is one of the more lenient arbiters in the Premier League’s Select Group, showing an average of 4.1 cards per game in 20 matches last season and 4.66 this term in a far smaller sample size of three matches.
Neither United or Spurs have been particularly ill-disciplined this season and the last five meetings all featured under 4.5 cards.
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