Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United 16/03/20

16 March 2020

Out-of-sorts Tottenham Hotspur welcome high-flying Manchester United to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium desperate to pick up three points and return in contention for the top-four finish in the Premier League (PL).

A dismal 3-0 demolition to RB Leipzig at midweek, which marked Tottenham’s Champions League elimination, has also brought their winless run in all competitions to six games (D2, L4). In the league alone, only one of Spurs’ last 11 fixtures has ended separating the sides by over 1.5 goals (W4, D3, L4), with seven of them saw both teams on the scoresheet. In turn, six of their nine previous top-flight H2Hs with United, home and away, have finished separating the sides by under 1.5 goals, although none has seen a draw (W4, L5). A stalemate seems to be off the table here, too, as just one of Tottenham’s five PL home clashes against the sides currently sitting above them in the table ended without a winner (W1, L3).

Meanwhile, the visitors have racked up 11 consecutive games without a loss in all competitions going into this meeting (W7, D3), with each of those successes yielding a clean sheet and a halftime lead. Moreover, seven of their eight triumphs during that 11-game sequence produced a margin of at least two goals, including a 5-0 dismantling of LASK in the Europa League during midweek. However, the Red Devils have secured just one win in their last four PL road trips (D1, L2), with all three of their results (win/loss) in that stretch seeing the winner on the day keep a clean sheet. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s hopes of walking away with all three points will heavily depend on whether or not his players can open the scoring. Indeed, the Old Trafford outfit lost six of eight PL away matches in which they’ve allowed the first goal, drawing the other two.