Not only do Tottenham miss goals as a result of the injury to Son Heung-min.
They also miss having one of the best creators in the Premier League. Heading into this weekend, Son had created more chances from open play (13) than any other player in the division.
Ange Postecoglou’s side will have to find that creativity from elsewhere in his absence. Over to you, Timo...
Here are how the two benches look at Old Trafford ahead of kick-off:
Man Utd: Bayindir (GK), Evans, Lindelof, Casemiro, Eriksen, Mount, Amad, Antony, Hojlund.
Tottenham: Forster (GK), Spence, Dragusin, Gray, Bissouma, Bergvall, Sarr, Moore, Lankshear.
So, Man United are pretty much as I expected. Meanwhile, it’s Timo Werner who gets the nod for the injured Son Heung-min, while Rodrigo Bentancur starts ahead of Yves Bissouma.
What do you make of these two benches and the starting XIs? Let us know in either the Discuss tab or with an email: livebloguk@theathletic.com
We are just minutes away from the team sheets being confirmed at Old Trafford, including how Ange Postecoglou has opted to fill the hole left by Son Heung-min’s injury absence this afternoon.
We’ll bring you those official XIs — and further analysis of them — as soon as we get them.
Stay turned.
Son Heung-Min’s absence is a huge blow for Tottenham. The South Korea international has not reached top form yet this season but he is their captain and an excellent finisher who can be relied upon in tight games.
With Wilson Odobert and Richarlison unavailable too, this could be an opportunity for Timo Werner to kick start his season. The 28-year-old has looked low on confidence but he could cause Manchester United’s defence with problems with his pace running in behind.
Son’s injury will also increase the pressure to perform on Spurs’ £65m club-record signing Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson, who both scored in last week’s 3-1 victory over Brentford.
Both Manchester United and Tottenham will be keeping an eye on how Aston Villa do this season — no doubt hoping to finish above them come the shake-up in May.
Well, Villa’s promising start to the season looks like continuing as things stand.
They lead 2-1 at Ipswich Town despite Liam Delap giving the hosts a surprise eighth-minute lead.
Morgan Rogers had equalised seven minutes later after some botched defending, before Ollie Watkins followed that assist by heading Villa into the lead on the half-hour mark.
Villa look comfortable, with the second half starting shortly. We’ll keep you up to date with the major developments as this one plays out at Portman Road.
Welcome to The Preview on the award-winning The Athletic FC Podcast, where each week we go deep on the biggest game of the weekend.
On this week’s episode, host Adam Leventhal is with guests Tim Spiers and Jon Mackenzie to focus on our game today as Manchester United host Tottenham at Old Trafford.
With the sides of Ange Postecoglou and Erik ten Hag sitting 10th and 11th respectively in the Premier League, today presents a huge opportunity for one to grab a jump on the other.
Listen in via your preferred podcast platform here
Son Heung-min will miss today’s trip to Manchester United.
The Tottenham captain was an injury doubt heading into the game after suffering with a hamstring problem during Thursday’s Europa League win over Qarabag and subsequently has not travelled with the rest of the squad.
Son was withdrawn 71 minutes into the 3-0 victory and head coach Ange Postecoglou confirmed on Friday that a decision would be made on the 32-year-old’s availability after training yesterday.
Son last missed a Spurs game through injury in November 2022, when he was sidelined with a fractured eye socket.
While we will have our correspondents at Old Trafford for today’s action, we very much want to hear from you too.
As usual, we have our matchday discussion open for subscribers. Simply click on the Discuss tab at the top of this feed or even easier, you can click here.
And if you’re not a subscriber, you can get involved too. Simply email us your thoughts — whether it’s a question you’ve always wanted answering, your tip for where things will be won or lost at the Theatre of Dreams, or which player you’re backing to make the difference…
Get in touch — just send your thoughts to: livebloguk@theathletic.com
I will be keeping an eye on the inbox and we will pick out the best of your thoughts to add in here too.
So, happy commenting and questioning. Liberal and creative use of emojis always encouraged.
Hello all and welcome again to our live coverage of the big Premier League fixture of the day, as Manchester United host Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
Your guess is as good as mine over what we’ll get from this pair today — but that is also half the fun of it!
We’ll have our correspondents at the ground and observers from further afield taking in and assessing all the action.
There is much more on the way before that too, as we build up to kick-off and cast an eye over the team news as soon as it breaks.
So in short, don’t go anywhere because we’ve got you covered from here.
On the latest episode of The Athletic's Manchester United podcast, Ian Irving, fresh from the stands at Old Trafford, holds court with Carl Anka, Laurie Whitwell, and Mr Andy Mitten as we cast judgement over another disappointing performance in Europe.
FC Twente, despite a rich history (one which features Erik ten Hag in three spells), have the lowest UEFA coefficient of any of United's opponent's in this season's Europa League. That didn't stop them fighting back to earn a point, though.
Christian Eriksen was robbed of possession for the Dutch side's goal; a shame as the night had been going pretty well for him. Next up for Manchester United, Eriksen's old club Tottenham.
Listen here!
The first of the two Premier League matches today is just about to get underway at Portman Road.
Newly promoted Ipswich Town are hosting Aston Villa, who have the small matter of a Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich coming up on Wednesday!
Victory for Unai Emery's side would move them level on points with league leaders Liverpool while Kieran McKenna is still looking for his first top-flight win.
Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada, pictured, has told club staff that the aim is to win the Premier League title in 2028, for the 150th anniversary of the club being formed.
Berrada, who officially joined from rivals Manchester City in June, addressed employees during a meeting at Old Trafford last Wednesday and mapped out the ambitions shared by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the football hierarchy.
Berrada informed staff of “Project 150” — so called because it coincides with the major milestone of United’s existence. The club was founded, as Newton Heath, in 1878, before changing its name to Manchester United in 1902.
That defined goal puts into context the work required on the team, with United currently 11th in the Premier League after two wins, one draw and two defeats. United also drew 1-1 in their opening game in the Europa League against FC Twente, the lowest-ranked side they will face at Old Trafford in the competition.
Read more below.
In his pre-match press conference, Ten Hag was asked whether he considers Manchester United and Tottenham as rivals for the European places.
"Definitely rivals," he said. "I think this is good because it is [going to be] a very attacking game, a very open game, a very intense game. I think it has big history, United against Tottenham.
"Both teams will be [thinking] about attacking and therefore there are always spaces which you leave then. That counts for both teams but of course we want to take control of the game and we will do everything to get this done.
"Of course this is a big challenge against Tottenham with their philosophy of the game. We are looking forward to finding the right solutions."
The concept of a full-back drifting into central midfield positions still seems relatively novel.
Yet it’s now over a decade since Pep Guardiola started doing it at Bayern Munich, taking advantage of the fact that his full-backs were Philipp Lahm and David Alaba, two outstanding technicians who both had experience of playing in the engine room for Bayern’s youth sides.
So how do Manchester United and Tottenham (and others) use their full-backs in midfield? Find out below.