Manchester United will be bidding to bounce back from their humiliating home defeat to Liverpool when they travel to North London in Saturday's late kickoff to take on Tottenham Hotspur.
The Red Devils suffered a 5-0 home loss to their bitter rivals in the Premier League last Sunday, while Spurs were also beaten on the same afternoon, going down 1-0 at the home of West Ham United.
Match preview
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Tottenham suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Vitesse and West Ham in the Europa Conference League and Premier League respectively on October 21 and October 24, but they were able to return to winning ways on Wednesday, recording a 1-0 victory over Burnley to advance to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.
In many ways, it has been a strange start to the season for the North London outfit, who have won five and lost four of their nine league games to collect 15 points, which has left them in sixth position, two points from fourth-placed West Ham United and one spot and indeed one position above their opponents on Saturday.
Spurs have found it difficult to show consistency this term, but they did manage to record important league wins over Aston Villa and Newcastle United before the one-goal reverse at West Ham, and the fact that the capital outfit are sixth at this stage must be taken as a positive.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side have only actually scored nine times in their nine league games this season, while Harry Kane has registered just once in England's top flight this term, with the 28-year-old suffering a hangover following his failure to secure a move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium over the summer.
Spurs have only won one of their last five Premier League games against Man United, meanwhile, and the capital outfit suffered a 3-1 defeat in the corresponding contest between the two teams last season.
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Man United, meanwhile, were thumped at home by Liverpool last weekend, with Mohamed Salah scoring three times in a five-goal victory for the Reds, and the result piled the pressure on head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but it does appear that the Norwegian will lead the team against Spurs.
Whether Solskjaer keeps the job on a long-term basis remains to be seen, but there is no question that there is immense pressure on the 48-year-old, who will be demanding a response from his players on Saturday after his "darkest day" at the helm.
The Red Devils sit top of their Champions League group despite three underwhelming performances in Europe this term, but they have now lost three of their last four league matches - collecting just a single point in the process - which has seen them drop down to seventh position in the table.
The 20-time English champions have collected just 14 points from their nine matches and are now eight points behind division leaders Chelsea, while they have conceded 15 times, with only Leeds United, Watford, Newcastle United and Norwich City shipping more after nine games of the 2021-22 Premier League season.
Man United lost their long unbeaten away league record against Leicester on October 16, but they have enjoyed themselves against Tottenham in the past, winning 36 of their previous 58 Premier League games, suffering just 10 defeats in the process.
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Team News
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Tottenham will again be without the services of Ryan Sessegnon due to a long-term hamstring problem, while Bryan Gil is unlikely to be available, having picked up a thigh issue against Burnley in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
Nuno has no other injury concerns at this stage, and the manager could decide to select the same team that took to the field for the first whistle against West Ham last weekend.
Kane and Son Heung-min are certainties to feature in the final third of the field, while Lucas Moura and Tanguy Ndombele should also feature from the first whistle, with Oliver Skipp lining up in midfield.
Giovani Lo Celso and Steven Bergwijn are perhaps the two players pushing hardest to break into the first XI, but Nuno could ultimately resist the temptation to shuffle his pack.
Man United, meanwhile, will be without the services of Paul Pogba through suspension, with the France international receiving a straight red card after coming on as a substitute against Liverpool.
The Red Devils will be boosted by the return of Raphael Varane, though, as the centre-back has overcome a groin problem, meaning that he could be back into the side on Saturday.
Anthony Martial and Amad Diallo will also hope to be involved in the squad, with both players overcoming injuries in time for the contest.
Solskjaer is unlikely to make wholesale changes from the Liverpool loss, but Nemanja Matic could come into the midfield, while Jadon Sancho might be handed a spot on the right, with Mason Greenwood dropping out.
Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard are both options for change, but it is difficult to imagine Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo dropping out of the starting XI despite the recent speculation.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Emerson, Romero, Dier, Reguilon; Skipp, Hojbjerg; Lucas, Ndombele, Son; Kane
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; Matic, Fred; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Ronaldo
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Manchester United
Man United must respond from the Liverpool defeat, and we just have a feeling that the Red Devils will shade this contest. Tottenham have also had their issues this season, and the events over the last week should act as strong inspiration for the visitors, who could bounce back with a huge result in London.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester United win with a probability of 37.93%. A win for Tottenham Hotspur had a probability of 36.12% and a draw had a probability of 25.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester United win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.34%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.36%) and 0-2 (6.34%). The likeliest Tottenham Hotspur win was 1-0 (9.07%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.31%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 2.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Manchester United would win this match.
