Spurs v Man Utd: All you need to know

We look at the key talking points, stats and latest results between the teams ahead of Saturday’s duel

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The meeting of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United is a fascinating one, where both teams are in transition under new head coaches.

While Man Utd are 12 months further down the road in that respect, their edgy 1-0 victory over Wolves on Monday would not have overly worried Spurs, who played out a 2-2 draw against Brentford in a rollercoaster of a match the day before.

For Ange Postecoglou, a first win without Harry Kane would be a big boost as Spurs enter a new era, while for Erik ten Hag three away points would offer evidence that United can improve on their third-place finish last season.

With both teams struggling to defend counter-attacks in their opening matches, this is set up to be an end-to-end thriller.

Team news

Spurs defender Cristian Romero has been given the green light to feature, having been forced off against Brentford with a head injury.

Ryan Sessegnon, Rodrigo Bentancur, Bryan Gil and Fraser Forster all remain sidelined.

For United, Lisandro Martinez is expected to be available, despite going off at half-time against Wolves, while Tom Heaton, Tyrell Malacia, Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and new signing Rasmus Hojlund remain out.

Last five meetings

27 Apr 2023: Spurs 2-2 Man Utd
19 Oct 2022: Man Utd 2-0 Spurs
12 Mar 2022: Man Utd 3-2 Spurs
30 Oct 2021: Spurs 0-3 Man Utd
11 Apr 2021: Spurs 1-3 Man Utd

Key facts

• Spurs are looking for a first win in six matches against United (D1 L4), last beating them 6-1 at Old Trafford in October 2020.
• Spurs are looking to complete a hat-trick of wins in opening home matches of a season, after beating Manchester City in 2021/22 and Southampton in 2022/23. They have not done so in three consecutive seasons since a run of five wins between 1962-63 and 1966-67.
• Marcus Rashford enjoys facing Spurs. He has scored five times against them, with three coming away from home. Leicester City are the only opponents he has scored more Premier League goals against, with eight.
• United are one of only two teams yet to lose a Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, alongside Liverpool. They have won two and drawn two of their four visits to the ground.

What the managers said

Ange Postecoglou: “We want to win on the back of playing our football, showing signs of building on last week. There can’t be a situation where there’s desperation to get a result.”

Erik ten Hag: “One of the aims is to step up in away games to gather more points, to bring higher levels because that is the foundation for more points.

“It is often to do with more personality, so that’s a demand from me to the players. We have to show more personality on the pitch to win such games and to gather more points in away games.”

New faces. New captains. Classic #PL entertainment.@SpursOfficial 🆚 @ManUtd 🔜 pic.twitter.com/6HHrTkdt7B

— Premier League (@premierleague) August 19, 2023

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Source: premierleague.com