Premier League: Sleeping Giants or simply Has Beens?

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United

We have a habit of referring to once great football clubs as ‘giants in temporary slumber’, which comes to mind when we take Sunday’s upcoming fixture, Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United.

It’s been a while since the Whites have ruled the land, as league and cup double winners in 1961 they sat at the top of the pile. Of course the Red Devils were the dominant force, for almost two decades until the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.

As recently as 2023 Manchester United finished third in the Premier League and last season Tottenham were fifth after leading for much of the first half of the campaign. But right now they are battling for 13^th place, currently occupied by the Red Devils with the Whites two points behind in 14^th, alongside Everton and West Ham on 27 points.

Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorin are the men with the task of reviving these two clubs’ fortunes and they come head to head in a six-pointer in North London on Monday; and the Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United betting odds say we’re in for a nail-biter with very little to separate the two sides. Last time out in the league, Spurs ended a run of four losses with an impressive 2-0 victory away to Brentford but last week they went out of the FA Cup in a 2-1 loss away to Aston Villa. Meanwhile Manchester United beat Leicester City 2-1 in the FA Cup but they lost their last league game 2-0 at home to Crystal Palace.

 

Talking Points

Spurs hoping for Maddison return

As my SBOTOP colleague Jordan says, Spurs are one of the most disappointing clubs in the Premier League this season and FA Cup and Carabao Cup exits in recent weeks has made it even tougher to be a Spurs fan, while they watch local rivals Arsenal push Liverpool at the top of the table.

There is no doubt Postecoglou has been dealt a terrible hand with injuries to key players throughout the campaign and it seems the recently returned centre back Micky van de Ven may be doubtful for this huge clash. But there may be good news on the horizon with updates on three players, including attacking midfielder James Maddison, in contention for a return. With eight goals Maddison is still the top scorer for the club, despite being sidelined since he suffered a calf strain during a victory over Hoffenheim last month. Dejan Kulusevski has been carrying the weight of supporting Spurs’ attackers and the return of Maddison would be a real boost. And in other Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United news goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who has been out injured since November with a fractured ankle is near a return too. His last game was a 4-0 win over Manchester City but since then the team last lost eight from 12 league games. And the third man is defender Destiny Udogie who has been out since December, and he will be a welcome addition to the squad with Van de Ven doubtful again. With a long awaited win last time out could things finally be looking up for Spurs?

 

Time for the United players to back Amorin

The Red Devils have a tough run of fixtures coming up and, while Amorin has not suffered the same level of injuries as Spurs, his challenge is to get the Manchester United players reaching their potential, week in week out. There have been some outgoings and it must be frustrating for Red Devils fans to see forward Antony winning plaudits following his debut for Real Betis, and even Marcus Rashford impressed on his cameo appearance for Aston Villa against Tottenham in the cup.

There is no questioning the leadership skills and quality of captain Bruno Fernandes and, with defensive warrior Lisandro Martinez sidelined again it falls to Harry Maguire to back his skipper on the pitch, and he did just that with the late winning goal in the FA Cup match against the Foxes. And in Amad Diallo, who has scored six goals, and Alejandro Garnacho, who has stayed at Old Trafford despite serious attention from Serie A leaders Napoli, Amorin has two exciting forwards. He is not blessed with a deep squad and so the Portuguese boss must now get the most from his core men and hope the rest will follow. Manchester United are in a state of transition for sure, but with the FA Cup and Europa League in their sights it could still turn into a positive campaign for Amorin.

 

History

United have won 44, drawn 13 and lost 13 of their meetings with Spurs in the Premier League era, but this season Postecoglou’s men have been on top, winning 3-0 at Old Trafford in the league and then dumping the Red Devils out of the Carabao Cup at the quarter final stage.

With four wins and two losses from the last six games the Red Devils have been slightly stronger than Spurs who have won three and lost three.

 

Betting Tip

This is a close game to call with the hosts the marginal favourites at odds of 2.25, with United at 2.50 and the draw at 3.50.

A 1-1 draw is the most likely score line at a price of 7.43, with 2-1 to Spurs next in line at 8.87. I think that home advantage and their returning stars will give the hosts a slight edge.

   

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