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Manchester United take on Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Saturday in a crucial Premier League match. Manchester United are currently in fifth position in the league table with 47 points from 28 matches. Tottenham are seventh with 45 points from 26 matches.
Any result other than a win tomorrow would peg both teams further back in the race for a top four finish this season. Fourth-placed Arsenal are a point ahead of the Red Devils with three matches in hand. They will certainly hope for a draw between Spurs and United.
Manchester United suffered a hammering 1-4 defeat against arch-rivals Manchester City at the Etihad last Sunday. Ralf Rangnick’s side will be desperate to bounce back.
On that note, let’s take a look at the three things Manchester United might do to win against Spurs:
#1 Manchester United need to decide their starting XI judiciously
It would be very important for United to get their team combination right against Tottenham. The Red Devils had quite predictably started the match against Manchester City with a double pivot consisting of Fred and Scott McTominay. However, that might not be possible on Saturday as the latter is doubtful for the match due to an injury.
Manchester United will also want to be more aggressive tomorrow and Rangnick might opt for Paul Pogba in the double pivot instead of McTominay. Pogba has played in a much more advanced role in the last few matches, but was unimpressive against the Cityzens. Hence, it might be judicious to start him alongside Fred or Nemanja Matic in United’s customary 4-2-3-1.
Jadon Sancho, who has been very impressive of late after an indifferent start to the season, will start on the left flank. Meanwhile, Anthony Elanga could retain his position on the right ahead of Marcus Rashford.
Bruno Fernandes will start as the No. 10 after a disappointing performance as the false 9 against Manchester City. The talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo could be back as the lone striker if fit. There are still doubts about his and Edinson Cavani's availability for the match.
This means that Rashford and Jesse Lingard should once again start on the bench for the home side.
#2 Making changes in the defense
Manchester United conceded four goals against City and Rangnick would have been left unimpressed by the way they conceded the first two goals. The man-marking abilities and general agility of the likes of Harry Maguire and Alex Telles could have been questioned numerous times by fans and pundits. This was on display again as Kevin de Bruyne scored an unmarked brace in the first half.
However, Maguire will be given another chance to start and redeem his position as the team’s captain. A fit Raphael Varane could, therefore, start the match at the heart of United’s defense in place of Victor Lindelof. Luke Shaw, if fit, could replace Telles, who did not offer much in attack either against Manchester City.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka also looked out of sorts in the match against City on the right side of United’s defense. He had a torrid time against Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish. It would be interesting to see whether Rangnick decides to start Diogo Dalot in place of Wan-Bissaka.
However, it has to be remembered in this context that Dalot has a tendency to overlap a lot. The space left behind him might be exploited by Tottenham to launch quick counter-attacks through Heung-Min Son on the left wing.
#3 Dealing with Tottenham’s counter-attacking football
Manchester United are usually brisk in their counter-attacks and have the ability to hurt any team through them. However, they might not have too many opportunities to play to their strength tomorrow. Spurs are probably going to defend deep and play counter-attacking football themselves.
Tottenham will once again start with a three-man defense and their wing-backs are also unlikely to venture too often into the opposition half. They will rely on their potent attacking combination of Harry Kane and Son. The duo scored three goals between themselves in an emphatic 5-0 win over Everton in their last match.
Should Manchester United opt to start with Pogba in the double-pivot, it would make them even more vulnerable against Tottenham's fast counter-attacks. Hence, their centre-back duo will have to be really cautious.
Maguire is evidently not the fastest centre-back in the world. Hence, Varane will have to shoulder the responsibility of nullifying Tottenham's counter-attacking threat.
