Despite their inferior head-to-head record in recent matches against Tottenham, Manchester United can be confident of getting a result when they make the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Ange Postecoglou’s side are currently on a run of just three wins in their last 12 domestic matches, with those victories coming against Brentford, National League side Tamworth and Liverpool in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final, a tie that they would go on to lose 4-1 on aggregate.
Ruben Amorim’s men have won six of their last eight matches across all competitions since drawing 2-2 at Anfield against Liverpool on 5th January. On top of this, United travel to a Spurs side that have the 14th-best home record in the division.
Prediction: Tottenham 1-2 Manchester United
Date: 16/02/2025
Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Time: 4:30pm
Spurs have significantly regressed from last season’s swashbuckling ways, as they have managed just 27 points from 24 matches, seeing them sit 13 points adrift of seventh-place Bournemouth and ten points clear of 18th-place Leicester City.
The Lilywhites have no domestic cup competitions to bring escapism from their dire league position, as they have exited both the League Cup and FA Cup, suffering a 4-1 aggregate loss to Liverpool in the semi-finals of the former, despite entering the second leg at Anfield with a 1-0 lead. In the FA Cup, they were embarrassingly taken to extra time by Tamworth before running out as 3-0 victors, while in the Fourth Round, they were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa, a scoreline which heavily flattered Tottenham.
Postecoglou vowed that he always wins trophies in his second season and could well be going toe-to-toe with Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League, as realistically that is the only chance that these two teams have to qualify for next season’s Champions League. Missing out on Europe’s elite competition has significant financial implications when it comes to FFP/PSR rules, meaning that both sides will be desperate to lift the trophy in Bilbao come the end of the season.
Manchester United have endured another turbulent season, as they have just 29 points from 24 games, somehow regressing from last season’s lowly eighth-place finish. The Red Devils started off the 2024/25 campaign under Erik ten Hag, however, the Dutchman failed to improve results as United accumulated just 11 points from their first nine league matches, seeing Ruud van Nistelrooy take charge on a caretaker basis, earning four points from two games.
Since then, Ruben Amorim has been in the Old Trafford hot seat, however, this is yet to spark a real upturn in fortunes in the Premier League having overseen his side earn 14 points from 13 matches. However, the Portuguese coach looks to have made United more resilient, as they managed an impressive win away at Arsenal in the FA Cup despite being down to ten men for around an hour, winning on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time, before defeating Leicester City 2-1 in the Fifth Round.
Following Ten Hag’s departure, United have won all of their last five Europa League matches against PAOK (2-0), Bodo/Glimt (3-2), Viktoria Plzen (2-1), Rangers (2-1) and FCSB (2-0), having previously drawn with FC Twente (1-1), FC Porto (3-3) and Fenerbahçe (1-1) under the ex-Ajax manager.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham enter this game off the back of dismal defeats to Aston Villa (2-0) and Liverpool (4-0).
Prior to those matches, the Lilywhites had earned back-to-back victories over Brentford and Elfsborg with a Vitaly Janelt own goal and a Pape Matar Sarr strike sealing all three points at the Gtech Community Stadium.
In the run-up to these matches, Tottenham suffered a shock home defeat to relegation battling Leicester City (2-1), despite taking the lead of that game in the 33rd-minute via a goal from Richarlison.
Manchester United
Manchester United have won four of their last five matches, with the only blot on their copybook being a 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace in their most recent Premier League outing.
Amorim’s men progressed through to the Fifth Round of the FA Cup via a 2-1 win over Leicester City thanks to goals by Joshua Zirkzee and Harry Maguire. Prior to that match, the Red Devils had also earned wins over FCSB (2-0), Fulham (1-0) and Rangers (2-1).