Surging Manchester United Host Tottering Tottenham | OneFootball

Manchester United host Tottenham at Old Trafford this weekend with Michael Carrick’s side in brilliant form, having won their last three games.

Carrick has a 100% win rate so far and has presided over wins against Manchester City and Arsenal already. They were almost held to a 2-2 draw against Fulham in their most recent game but Benjamin Šeško scored in the 94th minute to give them a last-gasp win.

Good Vibes at Old Trafford

The mood around the club is very positive, better now than it was at any point during Ruben Amorim’s reign. Amorim was, of course, the manager when United played Tottenham in the Europa League final last season, which they lost 1-0. Since then, both he and Ange Postecoglou – who managed Spurs in the final – have lost their jobs.

United actually lost four times against Spurs last season and have not beaten the London side in any competition since 2022. When the two sides met in November it finished 2-2, with three goals coming after the 84th minute.

Although Spurs won the Europa League final, they have gone steeply downhill since then, while it now feels as though United are on the up. Spurs kicked off the weekend 14th in the league currently and could even get dragged into the relegation battle, only nine points above 18th-placed West Ham. Their next three opponents are United, Newcastle and then Arsenal.

United are looking at Champions League qualification and are only six points behind local rivals City.

Spurs Manager’s Thoughts

Spurs boss Thomas Frank actually sat down for a conversation with former Tottenham midfielder Carrick a few months ago, before he took over at United, and had only positive things to say about the Englishman.

Frank said: “I think he has had a great start. It seems like there was injected a little bit of energy into the team. I think it looks like some of the players are in a good place. We know the threats that they pose from Bryan Mbeumo, Amad, Cunha and Bruno Fernandes, who is getting this team ticking.

“Bruno has done that the last, I don’t know, four or five years. It has been incredible. It is a threat, it is a challenge, but we are looking forward to it.”

Missed Chances

United signed  Mbeumo in the summer, a player who Frank and Spurs were also in for. Frank knows him well from their time at Brentford where Mbeumo scored 70 goals in six years. Although Frank tried to convince the Cameroonian to join him in his new venture, Mbeumo favoured United, foreshadowing a pattern which has repeated itself multiple times since.

Tottenham, after winning the Europa League final and securing Champions League football, missed out on transfer targets Mbeumo, Eberechi Eze and recently Antoine Semenyo.

United, though, were able to secure their top men in Šeško, Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

Schedule Helps

The Red Devils have been helped by the fact they are not in Europe at all this season and have been knocked out of both domestic cup competitions. They have a full week to recover before each league game and are making the most of it. They have only lost twice in the league since September.

Spurs on the other hand, haven’t won in the league since December. With that track record, this weekend seems as good an opportunity as any for United to get their first win against Tottenham in almost four years.

The Hooligan Take (Podcast)

Feature special guest Pythag from Pythagoras in Boots.