Tottenham vs Manchester United: The Lowdown on the Match of the Week

Midweek football is back the week commencing the 29th of January, with the highlight from the midweek fixtures coming from Wembley Stadium on Wednesday with Tottenham vs Manchester United.

The game has big implications for the race towards top four, with United sitting in second place, whilst Tottenham remain just outside the Champions League qualification places in fifth.

The likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham’s North London rivals Arsenal will be keeping a close eye on the affair, with both sides potentially losing points in the same evening.

Below, we’ll run you through all the latest team news, the form of both sides, and which team the online bookmakers are favouring ahead of this midweek clash.

 

Team News

Both Tottenham and Manchester United will be optimistic ahead of the game midweek, as both sides have limited injury issues.

United remain without long-term absentees Zlatan Ibrahimović and Eric Bailly, whilst Spurs miss out on Toby Alderweireld, who hasn’t featured since November, Harry Winks and reported United target Danny Rose.

Tottenham will be hoping that Hugo Lloris and Christian Eriksen can overcome illness, with the latter being missed in particular in Spurs’ 1-1 draw away at Southampton.

United’s new number seven Alexis Sanchez is due back in North London to make history that night. If he has any part to play in the fixture he’ll be the first Manchester United player to make their club debut at Wembley Stadium.

However, a start for the Chilean is in question due to the form of the Frenchmen Anthony Martial. The former Monaco forward has three league goals in his last three games, including the winner in United’s last outing against Burnley.

 

Form Guide

This is United’s 17th visit to Wembley, a ground where they’ve won their last six games.

It’s reasonable to argue to that United are as equally adjusted to Wembley as Spurs, but after six wins in their previous seven homes games, Spurs look to have finally banished the ‘Wembley hoodoo’ which hindered them in the early stages of the season.

Both sides are currently in a good spell of form. United bounced back with four straight victories after their turbulent spell over the Christmas period.

Tottenham haven’t lost in their last seven games and come into the fixture in relatively good form, and their top marksman Harry Kane will be looking to add to his 29 goals already this season.

Betting odds are already suggesting that this season’s golden boot is Kane’s to lose, with odds of the striker to reclaim the award as short as 4/11.

United have struggled away from home against the top six under Jose Mourinho, only winning one of their previous eight matches.

That victory came in November when United beat Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates.

Spurs have only faced two of last season’s top six at Wembley so far this season, and the results have been mixed. They lost 2-1 to Chelsea back in August, but followed that up by decimating Liverpool 4-1 in September.

Tottenham have been unpredictable this campaign, and have been far less consistent than they have in the previous two seasons. It’s difficult to know which Spurs side will turn up when they face United.

 

Previous Meetings

In October, in a largely unfulfilling contest between these two sides, a late Anthony Martial strike saw off Tottenham in a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford.

The encounter for the most part was close, but a costly misjudgement by Jan Vertonghen let Martial in to seal the three points for Jose Mourinho’s side.

At Old Trafford, Spurs were missing Harry Kane and it was evident, offering very little going forward apart for a fantastic opportunity for Dele Alli just minutes before the Martial winner.

United haven’t won away at Spurs since 2012, with two defeats and three draws since. Jose Mourinho will look to restore order as United’s record against Tottenham used to be so dominant in the Sir Alex Ferguson era.

 

Bookies Odds

The bookies odds are suggesting that Tottenham are the significant favourites for the clash with current football betting odds having them at 6/5, whilst United are considered outsiders at 12/5.

Jose Mourinho’s record away from home against the top six may be the reason for this, as you can argue that he always doesn’t set his side up to win and seems content with a point.

Considered as one of the biggest fixtures of the season, punters across the country will be looking for different free bet offers to place a wager on this contest.

With both sides recent record against each other being largely mixed, and each team hitting their stride in the race for the top four in recent weeks, this will certainly be a hard game to call.

 

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