North London thriller – Spurs face resurgent Man Utd amid poor home form & injury woes | OneFootball

Saturday’s Premier League action kicks off in North London as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United lock horns in a repeat of last season’s Europa League final.

Brennan Johnson’s winner in the Dublin showpiece halted Tottenham’s 17-year title drought and helped them qualify for this season’s Champions League.

Thomas Frank’s side put Copenhagen to the sword on Tuesday, cruising to a 4-0 win at this venue to set themselves up perfectly for Man Utd’s visit to the capital.

It’s been three years since the Red Devils last beat Spurs in any competition, but Ruben Amorim may have laid the groundwork for United’s first win over this opposition since October 2022.

Despite dropping points in a 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest last weekend, the visitors remain on the upward trajectory, having won three consecutive league games prior.

As a result of their form resurgence, Man Utd enter this round level on points with Tottenham and only one adrift of third-placed Liverpool, making this showdown a genuine six-pointer in the top-four race.

Feeble fortress

Despite a morale-boosting win over Copenhagen, Tottenham’s home form in the Premier League cannot inspire much confidence.

Last week’s dire performance in a 1-0 loss to fellow London rivals Chelsea saw Spurs generate a measly 0.1 xG, marking their fourth consecutive winless league game on home turf (D1, L3).

Frank’s men averaged 0.5 goals per game during that underwhelming sequence, and such inefficiency in the final third has become a worrying theme for the former Brentford manager.

As if that’s not concerning enough, Spurs have lost a league-high nine Premier League home matches in 2025, putting themselves at risk of hitting double digits for only the third time in club history.

United’s visit, though formidable on paper, could help Tottenham turn the page, considering they won all four meetings between the sides last season, including a narrow 1-0 victory in this corresponding fixture in February.

History now beckons for the hosts, who are on the verge of becoming the first side in over two decades to get the better of Man Utd in five encounters in a row.

Renewed belief

Optimism has been a rare commodity at Old Trafford during the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, but United’s recent return to form has rekindled hope that the glory days may be on their way back.

Amorim has steadied the ship following an unimpressive start to the season, guiding the Red Devils to their first four-game unbeaten league run since taking over from Erik ten Hag last November (W3, D1).

His next assignment is to address Man Utd’s travel sickness, with his side securing just one win across their last 11 domestic away matches (D3, L7), courtesy of a stunning victory at Anfield in mid-October.

However, recent trips to London have not been kind to the joint-record English champions as they’ve only won three of their last 25 Premier League outings in the capital (D6, L16).

In addition to United’s dreadful record in London, Spurs, in particular, have lately been their kryptonite.

It’s needless to go beyond Man Utd’s seven-game winless run against this opposition (D2, L5) to understand the scale of the visitors’ struggles.

Team news

Tottenham’s ominous-looking injury list could be their worst enemy this weekend, with Frank missing numerous first-team stars.

James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Dragusin, Dominic Solanke, Yves Bissouma, Ben Davies, Kota Takai, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall are not in contention for Saturday’s blockbuster.

As for Man Utd, Argentine centre-back Lisandro Martinez remains the only notable absentee, with Leny Yoro expected to get the nod in defence ahead of Harry Maguire.

Marquee summer signing Bryan Mbeumo will be out to add to his four-goal league tally this season against one of his favourite opponents. Indeed, the Cameroonian has bagged four Premier League goals against Spurs.

Potential starting line-ups