Under Pressure Man Utd Seek Redemption at Tottenham

With just one point from a possible 12, and a humiliating 5-0 drubbing in the hands of arch-rivals, Liverpool last weekend, Manchester United will be hoping to get back to winning ways as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer visit an inconsistent Tottenham Hotspur in today’s Premier League match at the new White-Hart-Lane. Another loss by the Red Devils may bring an end to the Norwegian’s coaching job at Old Trafford. After a winning run of three matches with the Lilly Whites, Nuno Espirito Santo had gone on to lose four matches out of nine, which is putting the Portuguese under immense pressure like his today’s counterpart. Today’s outcome would no doubt go a long way in determining if Ole will keep his job or not

Manchester United will be bidding to bounce back from their humiliating home defeat to Liverpool when they travel to North London today 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 same day, going down 1-0 at the home of West Ham United.

Tottenham suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Vitesse and West Ham in the Europa Conference League and Premier League respectively, 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 opponent today.

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. The capital outfit suffered a 3-1 defeat in the corresponding contest between the two teams last season.

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 today after his “darkest day” at the helm.
The Red Devils sit top of their Champions League group despite three underwhelming performances in Europe, 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 on the table.

The 20-time English champions have collected just 14 points from their nine matches and are now eight points behind leaders Chelsea, while they have conceded 15 times, with only Leeds United, Watford, Newcastle United and Norwich City shipping more after nine games.

Man United lost their long unbeaten away league record against Leicester two weeks ago, 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.

Meanwhile, neighbours, Manchester City will seek to bounce back immediately from their EFL Cup heartbreak when they welcome Crystal Palace to the Etihad Stadium today.

The champions currently occupy third spot in the table after nine games, while draw specialists Palace are down in 15th following four successive stalemates.

If any side was going to break Brighton & Hove Albion’s defensive resilience, it was free-scoring Man City, who chalked up a quartet of goals on the South Coast to ease to a 4-1 victory over Graham Potter’s men last weekend.

Phil Foden bagged a brace while Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez also found the back of the net at the Amex Stadium, with Alexis Mac Allister’s penalty proving to be little more than a consolation for the home side.

However, Foden went from hero to zero as City’s quest of an unprecedented fifth EFL Cup crown in succession came to an end in midweek, with the England starlet failing to convert from 12 yards as West Ham United advanced to the quarter-finals.

Pep Guardiola certainly has bigger fish to fry than the EFL Cup, though, as third-placed City seek to keep the pressure on Liverpool and Chelsea, who are one and two points ahead of them in the top three of the table respectively.

Now unbeaten in eight Premier League games since their opening-day defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, City’s tally of 12 goals on home soil is the second-best record in the league behind Chelsea’s 16, and they are the only team in the division yet to concede on familiar territory so far this term.

Crystal Palace were not involved in midweek EFL Cup action following their August defeat at the hands of Watford, which has given Patrick Vieira ample time to figure out a way to end his side’s run of stalemates in the Premier League.

After sharing the points with Brighton, Leicester City and Arsenal, the Palace faithful harboured hopes of a long-awaited win when Christian Benteke put them ahead against Newcastle United, but Callum Wilson equalised just nine minutes later in the second half to force another stalemate for Palace.

The Eagles’ failure to convert one point into three has bedevilled them in the past few weeks, and Vieira’s side currently sit 15th in the Premier League as a result but are five points clear of the dotted line, despite claiming just one win so far this season.

Finding the back of the net is not the problem for Vieira’s crop, who have scored in six of their last seven Premier League games – but failure to shut up shop at the other end has seen them concede 10 goals away from home already this season – not a good omen before a daunting trip to the home of the champions.

Palace did prevail at the Etihad as recently as December 2018 – thanks in no small part to Andros Townsend’s thunderbolt, but City won both fixtures in the 2020-21 season by an aggregate score of 6-0, including a 4-0 success on home soil.