Who: Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United
What: English Premier League
Where: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
When: Saturday at 12:30pm (12:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 09:30 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
The weekend’s Premier League action begins in north London where sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur welcome eighth-placed Manchester United.
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Provisional second place in the table is up for grabs in a grudge game for Ruben Amorim’s United side after Spurs beat them 1-0 in last season’s Europa League final to prevent the Red Devils from playing in the Champions League this season.
While the hosts are seeking to bounce back from a home defeat by Chelsea last weekend, the visitors are unbeaten in their last four Premier League matches – a sequence that includes a 2-1 win over champions and archrivals Liverpool, as well as last weekend’s battling 2-2 draw away at Nottingham Forest.
Frank ‘happy’ with Spurs response to Chelsea defeat
Following an insipid defeat to Chelsea last weekend, Spurs have now lost three Premier League games at home this season. Their record at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium over the last 12 months is even worse – they have won just four out of 20 home league games, drawing four and losing 12.
Tottenham did at least get a boost in midweek as Spurs thrashed Copenhagen 4-0 at home to record their biggest win since manager Thomas Frank took charge.
Frank was reluctant to point to the victory over a team from his native Denmark as a turning point after a difficult spell of one win in five, but it lifts the mood before Saturday’s visit from Manchester United.
“We talk a lot about that bounce-back mentality because in life and football there will be setbacks,” he said.
“Every team will experience that and it’s how we react to that to come out after a bad game or a bad spell and come back to it. That’s part of a good team. I’m very happy with the response the players came with.”
Van de Ven makes amends with wonder goal
Micky van de Ven got back in favour with Frank as the Tottenham defender’s stunning solo goal during the rout of Copenhagen drew comparisons to Lionel Messi.
Van de Ven and Djed Spence were forced to apologise to Tottenham boss Frank this week after they ignored his plea to applaud fans following Saturday’s loss to Chelsea.
But Van de Ven retained his place in the starting lineup and produced a moment of magic, running over half the length of the pitch before delivering a clinical finish to score.
“It seems like we had Lionel Messi turned into Micky van de Ven, roaring down from his own goal all the way to the other end and scored a fantastic goal,” Frank said.
“I think he’s our top scorer in all competitions, so he can keep going.”
Van de Ven celebrates after scoring Tottenham’s third goal against FC Copenhagen on Tuesday [AFP]
‘We are a better team’
United will not need motivation against Spurs, having lost all four games they played against Tottenham last season.
When asked how United had changed since the Europa League final, Amorim replied: “First of all, the characteristics of the players. So, we are a better team, we play better, we understand the game better. I think we are more confident.
“We reached that final confident that we could win because we were doing well in Europe, but in this moment we play with a different confidence.
“We manage the moments of the game better. But if you remember that game, they have that shot on the goal, they won the game.
“So, I expect a different game, that we can play better, but also to have a little bit luck to help us to win the game.”
Amorim celebrates after United beat Brighton last month [Phil Noble/Reuters]
Amorim hits back at Ronaldo criticism
Cristiano Ronaldo, who won eight trophies at United, said this week that United were “not in a good path” after a wretched season in which the Red Devils finished 15th, and warned that Amorim was “not going to do miracles” at Old Trafford.
Amorim, who took over from Erik ten Hag in November 2024, hit back by urging fans and pundits alike to look forward rather than dwell on the past.
“Of course, he has a huge impact in everything he said,” Amorim said on Thursday.
“What we need to focus [on] is in the future. We know that we as a club made a lot of mistakes in the past, but we are trying to change that. So let’s not focus on what happened. Let’s focus [on] what we are doing now.
“We are changing a lot of things in the structure, the way we do things, the way we want the players to behave. We are doing that and we are improving.”
Head-to-head
The two clubs have faced each other 204 times, with United winning 96 of those games, Tottenham winning 57 and 51 ending as draws.
Despite doing the league double over Man United last season, Spurs have only won four of their last 12 Premier League games against the Red Devils, with three of their last five victories coming at Old Trafford.
As well as beating United 1-0 in the Europa League final last season, Spurs also won a wild League Cup quarterfinal 4-3 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The last time United beat Spurs was back in October 2022, when goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes gave the Red Devils a 2-0 win at Old Trafford.
Tottenham Hotspur’s team news
Spurs could be missing as many as 10 players for United’s visit, with James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Radu Dragusin, Yves Bissouma, Ben Davies, Archie Gray and Kota Takai all ruled out through injury.
Winger Mohammed Kudus is a doubt after he missed the win over Copenhagen with a knock, potentially opening the way for Brennan Johnson to start on the right.
Midfielder Lucas Bergvall is unlikely to feature due to concussion protocols following a blow to the head that forced his substitution against Chelsea last weekend.
Tottenham’s predicted starting lineup
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Palhinha, Sarr; Johnson, Richarlison, Simons
Manchester United’s early team news
United’s only reported injury concern is with centre back Lisandro Martinez, who has returned to training after being sidelined since February with a knee injury but is still regaining full fitness.
Harry Maguire returned to the bench for United’s 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest last weekend after recovering from a knock, so Amorim could recall the defender or stick with Leny Yoro in the back three.
United’s predicted starting lineup
Lammens; Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw; Amad, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dalot; Mbeumo, Cunha; Sesko
