Ange Postecoglou’s project appears to be progressing at Tottenham, while Manchester United remains a club without an identity under Erik ten Hag, and the two sides meet at Old Trafford on Sunday.
WATCH MANCHESTER UNITED vs TOTTENHAM LIVE
Spurs are riding a three-game winning run across all competitions, with Brennan Johnson scoring in all three, and there is a real sense of Postecoglou’s ideas taking hold early in his second season. The results may have been lacking in the season’s opening weeks, but the quality of Tottenham’s performances and their statistical output were not. Not only have they begun to put away a few of the scoring chances they wasted early on, but Postecoglou feels his side is begining to dominate games in the manner he envisions. The Australian coach is on the record that he expects to win a trophy at Spurs this season and we all know how important that is to the Tottenham faithful. Last time out Tottenham beat Brentford 3-1 at home as James Maddison dazzled in a high-energy display.
Last weekend’s 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace was another one of those miserable results for Manchester United where the game felt like it took 18 hours to play even though everyone watching knew the outcome from the opening whistle. They settled for speculative, long-range shots and only really threatened Dean Henderson from set pieces. At one point, Ten Hag was well on his way to building the best transitional team in the world, as he put it at the time, until opponents started defending the Red Devils deeper and deeper, which means most of the squad — struggling with ideas and creativity as it is — aimlessly shuffles the ball side to side and makes very little of 67 percent of possession. Perhaps the tactical matchup is more favorable on Sunday, with Spurs more than happy to concede a handful of chances to create a dozen of their own.
How to watch Manchester United vs Tottenham live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 11:30 am ET Sunday (September 29)
Venue: Old Trafford
TV Channel: USA Network
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Manchester United focus, team news
OUT: Victor Lindelof (undisclosed), Luke Shaw (calf), Tyrell Malacia (knee), Leny Yoro (foot)
Tottenham focus, team news
OUT: Richarlison (undisclosed), Wilson Odobert (thigh)
Manchester United vs Tottenham prediction