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White Hart Lane shall play host to two teams who are on the cusp. Both Manchester United and Tottenham have endured stuttering starts to their respective campaigns. But entering the fixture, the two teams must be in contrasting spirits.
Spurs this past weekend got annihilated by Man City 6-0, in what was their heaviest defeat since the turn of the century. Whilst, United are heading into this fixture having registered their biggest away day victory in the history of the European Cup against a strong Bayer Leverkusen outfit.
There has been growing trepidation among the Spurs faithful and the administration concerning Andre Villas-Boas’ credentials. After the huge overhaul in the summer, where they spent over a hundred million pounds, it was natural to anticipate a bedding-in period. What were not foreseeable were the insipid displays that have become a weekly fixture with the men from North London.
The most telling statistic that characterises Villas-Boas’ season thus far, is the fact that they have hit the back of the net a mere nine time in twelve outings (only Crystal Palace and Sunderland have scored fewer), amongst which three have come from the spot. Roberto Soldado, who was supposed to be the solution to their striking problems of yesteryear, has come in for some heavy criticism from the press and fans alike. So inept have Spurs been in front of goal, that Villas-Boas actually resorted to bringing back Emmanuel Adebayor back into the fray from the wilderness last weekend.
The defence has been their only redeeming facet with Hugo Lloris having kept the most number of clean sheets in the Premier League. But even they were found wanting last weekend as Manchester City effortlessly had their way with them thanks to a woeful performance from the back four.
AVB has a tough job on his hands, and with growing clamour of his job being at risk he can scarcely afford a third loss on the bounce. Despite languishing in ninth place in the league, the flip side is that they are still just two points off that coveted fourth Champions League spot. As a result, this match against the Red Devils is crucial as they cannot afford to lose ground on their fellow rivals.
United on the other hand have slowly been making inroads and have steadily been moving back up the ladder. However, the late equaliser at Cardiff was a minor dent on the defending champions’ title defence. Nevertheless, the squad seems to be steadily becoming more accustomed to life under Moyes, personified by their magnificent result in midweek.
Wayne Rooney has led the fight back for United, with his talismanic performances. He has racked up eight goals and twelve assists already this season. The Liverpudlian seems to be rejuvenated under new management and has been consistently been the stand out performer in an otherwise substandard season, thus far. It will be interesting to see if Shinji Kagawa will get a look in after his impressive showing against Leverkusen in Europe.
Nonetheless, the Mancunians need to stay weary as a defeat this weekend could potentially leave them up to ten points off the summit. Even at this stage of the season, that deficit would be extremely overcome. Moyes will be aware, that this game is critical and could have ramifications on their aspiration for the rest of the campaign.
Although, they could view this as the most appropriate time to visit North London as Spurs will probably still be reeling from the after effects of the trouncing they received at the hands of the other Manchester side. Moreover, United have an impeccable against the Lilywhites having lost just one game in the twenty fours between the two teams.
Prediction:
Expect Villas-Boas to fire his troops up for this encounter and for there to be a reaction, to last weekend’s horror showing. Fans may also have to brace themselves for a cagey affair, with Spurs’ profligacy in front of goal well documented and the same being the case with David Moyes’ penchant to set up conservatively in the bigger fixtures. This is exemplified by the fact in United’s three league games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, there have been a paltry two goals scored. Furthermore, in seven out of Tottenham’s twelve league encounters there has been either a goal or less than a goal scored by either side. The author expects a scrappy match with not a lot of goals and is leaning towards either United nicking it by the odd goal or for a dour draw to transpire.
