Man Utd

The sides meet for the first time since pre-season when Spurs recorded a narrow victory in the friendly at St George's Park.

The Reds are unbeaten, with three clean sheets in all competitions, going into the game at Leigh Sports Village.

On Friday morning, Skinner spoke to the press about the team feeling fresh, preparation for the 12:30 BST kick-off and supplying an update on our injury news.

WE’VE GOT A GOOD CHEMISTRY

“We're in a good space. We're still learning. I can tell that there are parts of our game that are not smooth but I've been happy with our clean sheets. I think that's huge for us. We're embedding a new goalkeeper into a starting position. We're embedding new defenders, new midfielders, new forwards. I've been really pleased with the fact that the girls have taken it on. They've got this real good chemistry with each other as well. We're playing some really exciting stuff and, even in training, I'm starting to see little connections in players that haven't played together before. I think that is really important for us. It's still our style, but I just think you'll see individuals do things differently.”

I WILL NEVER TAKE SPURS LIGHTLY

“We've got to make sure we're in good defending positions [against Tottenham] and we do things properly. We can score goals as well. It's going to be an intriguing game. I won't take Tottenham ever lightly. I pay every team the respect they deserve and this is a team that can score goals, can create chances, has great counter-attacking ability. We've just got to try to control it as much as possible. It'll be a good game. It will be tight and, if we do our things, then, you know, hopefully we can win the game.”

OUR PREPARATION FOR THE WEEKEND

“I'm sure only Sunday would tell [if the week off was of benefit]. It was good to get some more coaching time. We're still building relationships, so it was good to get that, but only Sunday would tell. Hopefully, we’ve managed the week effectively. We've got two more sessions before Spurs so, hopefully, we can get the last bits of detail and then we go into the game ready. I think, for everybody watching, the games are going to be way more unpredictable this year. You're going to have to be resilient. You're going to have to adapt and that's something I'm looking forward to as a coach is adapting live as well. It's part and parcel of the job."

TEAM NEWS

“Anna Sandberg will be missing for probably a few weeks, maybe [until] before Christmas, maybe just after Christmas. She had a knee issue that we've we've looked at. Then Melvine [Malard] will miss maybe the next two games again, nothing too serious, just a hamstring strain. We’re making sure she's looked after as well. She did it in the game against Liverpool. Everybody else should be in contention apart from Evie Rabjohn who's a long-term [one]."

BARRY UPDATE

"Keira Barry is back on the field, so she's training back on the field now. Hopefully, she'll be injury free and then will probably be training with us up until Christmas. Then, if she excels, I'll leave a door open but, if not, then we're probably looking at a loan in that that window after Christmas to get her game time. What I need from Keira is to stay robust. It's hard. The kids that have come up from the Academy have struggled with the intensity."

Marc Skinner's side have enjoyed a fruitful start to the new campaign, winning all three of our outings across all competitions so far without conceding a goal.

The Reds overcame Liverpool 2-0 in the FA Women's League Cup last week, with Melvine Malard and Rachel Williams both finding the net.

Our upcoming clash against the Lilywhites will be the first league outing at Leigh this term and with no men's action in the calendar, you'd be silly to miss out.

Still on the fence about attending? Fear not, our handy guide provides all the information you need ahead of the encounter...

TICKET INFORMATION AND TV DETAILS

Tickets for the 12:30 BST kick-off are still available here, with prices at £12 for adults and £6 each for over-65s and under-16s.

The game is also set to be shown live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage scheduled to begin at 11:30 BST.

Alternatively, our channels will bring you live updates on ManUtd.com and in the Official App, with radio commentary also available.

HOW ARE SPURS FARING SO FAR THIS SEASON?

Tottenham have had a mixed start so far in the WSL, winning one, drawing one and losing one of their opening three games.

Robert Vilahamn's side were beaten 3-2 by Liverpool last time out, conceding in the final moments from the penalty spot.

The Lilywhites did enjoy a stunning start to the season by beating Crystal Palace 4-0 on the opening day, with four different scorers all finding the net.

Forward Jessica Naz is one to watch, having already scored twice and she is likely to partner Three Lions' star Bethany England in attack.

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD

Our last meeting with Spurs was special for so many reasons, as we triumphed 4-0 to lift the Adobe Women's FA Cup at Wembley Stadium.

In fact, after 13 meetings, United have never lost to Sunday's opponents in our history and will look to extend that record.

The Reds have won 11 times, with the two encounters ending in a draw, so confidence is likely to be high.

The hosts established the lead in the first five minutes through striker Ellis Lehane, before a double from Luca Williams-Barnett saw them head into the break with a three-goal advantage.

It looked like the game had slipped away from United when Williams-Barnett completed his hat-trick on the other side of half-time.

Substitute Shea Lacey's brace gave Adam Lawrence's side a fighting chance however, and Gabriele Biancheri's converted penalty in the final five minutes made for a shaky finale for Spurs, but time ran out before we were able to complete an unlikely late comeback.

The hosts made a rapid start to the tie through their striker, Lehane, who latched onto Williams-Barnett's through-ball and dispatched a strike beyond our goalkeeper William Murdock's grasp.

United grew into the game following the opener and produced our best chance of the half in the 15th minute. Jayce Fitzgerald delivered a corner to the head of Reece Munro who beat his marker, and the Spurs goalkeeper, but Lehane was on hand to sweep the effort off the line.

Following that near leveller, the north London side further extended their lead.

Williams-Barnett first doubled his side's lead, knocking in a rebound from Lehane's parried effort, before doubling his personal tally for the game a little over five minutes later, dribbling into our penalty area from the left before slotting home through a crowded six-yard box.

The young Reds emerged from the break with plenty to do after the hosts' three first-half strikes, but it was Spurs who notched first in the second period, again through Williams-Barnett to seal his hat-trick.

Substitute Shea Lacey entered the field on the hour mark and gave Tottenham plenty to worry about despite their comfortable lead. His first goal came in the 78th minute when he cut in from the right wing and squeezed an accurate finish into the goalkeeper's bottom-left corner.

Seconds later he had his name on the scoresheet again, firing a shot that proved powerful enough to slip through Sam Archer's hands and into the net. There may have been some arguments on whether the ball crossed the line, but Amir Ibragimov smashed it into the back of the goal to be on the safe side.

A penalty in the final five minutes, coolly placed beyond the goalkeeper by Gabriele Biancheri, gave the hosts a nervy finish with seven minutes of injury time added on, but our late flurry of goals would arrive just too late to complete the comeback.

Full 90: United v Spurs  Man Utd

Fernandes will be eligible to play in that game at the Estadio do Dragao on Thursday night, with the suspension from his red card in Sunday's defeat to Tottenham Hotspur only applying to domestic games.

Having grown up in Porto, as a fan of their local rivals Boavista, Bruno is more knowledgeable than most when it comes to our next opponent.

United will be looking to respond after the weekend and, although Porto lost their Europa League opener against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt last week, their recent results in Liga Portugal have been positive. Sunday's 4-0 win over Arouca was their third successive domestic victory since losing to Sporting CP at the end of August.

"It's a side that always does really well in Europe, we have to be aware of that," Fernandes told MUTV.

"It's a team that has a great spirit, [are] improving a lot in the last few games, even if they lost the last game in the Europa League.

"It is a team that has been improving under their new manager," he added, referencing the promotion of Vitor Bruno, who is now the man in charge after spending seven years as an assistant.

"We expect a really difficult game there, but we go there to win because it’s everything that we have to think about."

United haven't faced Porto since 2009, when Cristiano Ronaldo's famous thunderbolt from distance in front of a hostile local crowd secured our aggregate win in a Champions League quarter-final tie.

Our only other trip to the Dragao, which opened in 2003, was a narrow 2-1 defeat to Jose Mourinho's eventual European champions in 2004.

90 in 20: United v Spurs  Man Utd

Highlights: United v Spurs  Man Utd

The skipper wanted to highlight the efforts of his team-mates, who played the whole of the second half with a player less than Spurs but still put the visitors under a spell of pressure.

Fernandes was shown the red card by referee Chris Kavanagh late in the first half. But while Spurs got a second goal quickly after the restart, the Reds on the pitch rallied, had a couple of penalty appeals and also went close to pulling one back through Casemiro.

"Obviously, I left my team-mates one man down. I do appreciate everything they did on the pitch was tougher for them," Bruno said in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

"We didn't start the game well when it was 11 v 11, and the result is on [Tottenham's] side and we get the situation with the red card. [My team-mates] did well, they tried, we did concede another two goals. It was difficult to cover all the spaces. I think it's many good things we can take away from this. The resilience of the team was always there and I'm very proud of the team.

"Obviously, no-one likes to be sent off. It's not a good feeling seeing my team-mates running a lot, trying a lot and trying to score, because that's what they tried to do to get a result on our side. We end up conceding another two goals but they did try everything."

Fernandes disagreed with the referee's decision to produce a red card in response to the challenge on James Maddison. He lost his footing beforehand but still tried to win the ball, making contact with the Spurs midfielder's leg.

"I don't take him as everyone wants to see it, going with the studs. I take him with my ankle. It's a clear foul, but never a red card, that's my feeling," our No.8 explained, giving his honest assessment of the situation.

"Even Maddison when he gets up…he just said like: 'It is a foul but never a red card'. In the eyes of everyone, you can see this is never a red card. Because if this is a red card, we have to look at many other incidents.

"I've had many incidents when I get kicked and I’ve never seen something so quick coming up as a red card. I just think it's never a red card. It's a foul. Even the contact is not that strong. If [the referee] wants to give me a yellow because it's a counter-attack, I agree. And then I don't understand why the VAR didn't call the referee to the screen. For me, it's just not a really good decision."

Both clubs were in Europa League action in the days leading up to this one and the two managers, having seen fit to lean on squad depth for those matches against FC Twente and Qarabag, made changes here.

Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo and Matthijs de Ligt were back in Erik ten Hag's XI, while Ange Postecoglou restored seven to the Spurs line-up - including Cristian Romero and James Maddison. The visitors were, however, missing captain Son Heung-min through an injury sustained on Thursday.

Brennan Johnson's third-minute opener was an early setback and the hill to climb got much steeper when Bruno Fernandes was shown a red card towards the end of the first half. Dejan Kulusevski then doubled the Spurs lead straight after the interval, before United rallied to give the fans some hope of mounting a comeback. However, Dominic Solanke grabbed a third as time ticked on.

FIRST HALF - FAST SPURS START

It was an intense start to the proceedings but, when a promising early Reds counter-attack broke down, Micky van de Ven collected the ball in his own half and surged forward using his blistering pace. The Dutchman eventually reached the byline down on our right-hand side and sent a dangerous centre across the six-yard box that Johnson was in the right place to tap in, inside three minutes.

Andre Onana was soon also called into action to deny a buoyant Spurs, rushing out to close down Maddison's attempt after a quick one-two from the visitors.

As United began to gain more of a foothold, the biggest source of danger was in the wide areas and Marcus Rashford got into threatening positions on a few occasions. But Spurs had another chance of their own when Johnson struck the base of the far post after the visitors worked the ball from left to right.

Increasingly end to end, only a brilliant save from Guglielmo Vicario, throwing out a hand low to his right, stopped a stretching Joshua Zirkzee from making it 1-1 midway through the first half, after being played in by Mainoo.

Postecoglou's side, pushed on by attacking full-backs Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie, continued to probe and stand-in skipper Romero was only a whisker wide with an ambitious volley. Garnacho was even closer at the other end when he met Rashford’s searching cross from the left, watching the ball onto his right foot but seeing the attempt cannon off the outside of a post.

There was time for another big Onana save in the final stages of the half, coming out on top in a one-on-one with Timo Werner. But then came a huge moment when referee Chris Kavanagh reached for a straight red card for Fernandes, slipping as he tried to tackle Maddison and adjudged to have caught the Tottenham man high on the shin whilst aiming a leg at the ball. United also almost simultaneously lost Mainoo to injury in a double blow right before the interval.

SECOND HALF - AN EARLY BLOW

Half-time brought a personnel change, with Casemiro replacing Zirkzee, and a tactical reshuffle as Rashford moved central. But the second Spurs goal came almost immediately after the restart, with Johnson breaking clear down their right flank and firing a deflected cross into the middle. As the ball popped up off De Ligt, Kulusevski delicately flicked it beyond the reach of Onana.

Our keeper was sharp around 10 minutes into the half when he parried from Werner racing through and got up to smother the rebound just as Solanke was closing in.

But, as the rain began to fall at M16, a third goal came with just under 15 minutes of the 90 to play. Spurs substitute Pape Matar Sarr flicked on a corner at the near post, with Solanke sneaking unchecked through the middle to poke the ball in from close range.

United staff took no risks with a late head injury suffered by Mason Mount, withdrawing the substitute following a heavy clash with replacement centre-back Radu Dragusin. But it was a positive to see Mason able to walk towards the dressing room unaided after being patched up.

Spurs might have had a fourth goal in stoppage time but for Onana, sticking out an instinctive leg to deny Solanke through on goal. The rebound was inviting for Sarr, although he could only put the header wide of the target. De Ligt also prodded a late chance of a consolation off target for the Reds.

The 16:30 BST kick-off provides ample opportunity for Erik ten Hag's team to get back to winning ways, after draws against Crystal Palace and FC Twente in the Premier League and Europa League, respectively.

Ahead of the match, former Reds Danny Simpson and Ben Thornley have been playing our United Predictions game, where you can select Erik's starting XI, the scoreline, who you think will find the net first and your Man of the Match - with the chance of winning great prizes.

Both Danny and Ben are tipping summer signing Manuel Ugarte to make his first-ever Premier League start against Ange Postecoglou's side on Sunday...

Thornley, who will be commentating on the game live - available throughout the 90 minutes in our app and on ManUtd.com - has gone for the same line-up as Simpson, but backs there to be more goals in the match with a different Red standing out as our star man.

BEN THORNLEY'S PREDICTIONS

United XI

Onana

Mazraoui

De Ligt

Martinez

Dalot

Ugarte

Mainoo

Garnacho

Fernandes

Rashford

Zirkzee

First scorer: Marcus Rashford

Final score: 2-0

Man of the Match: Manuel Ugarte

PLAY UNITED PREDICTIONS

Do you agree or disagree with Danny or Ben? Make your own picks in our United Predictions game now.

You have until 15:15 BST to select your starting XI, and you can make your picks for first scorer, result and Man of the Match right up until kick-off.

With amazing prizes - including signed shirts and United Store vouchers - on offer, what are you waiting for? Get involved now!