The Independent

Tottenham vs Manchester United betting tips

Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester United in the Premier League‘s early kick-off this weekend, with both sides looking for a much-needed win against a potential European rival.

Both sides have had mixed starts to the season but it’s the hosts who are faring better so far, with Thomas Frank’s side starting the weekend in sixth, just two points off second place.

However, Spurs were booed off at home to Chelsea last weekend and while a 4-0 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League included an improved performance, fans will likely wait until the final whistle this weekend to pass their latest judgement on the new project, with Spurs having drifted to huge outsiders in the Premier League title odds.

Worryingly for home fans, they have won just one of five home matches in the league this season, and while their away form has carried them up the table, they will need to improve their home performances drastically if they want to retain goodwill from the home faithful.

This weekend provides the perfect chance to do just that, with the visit of Manchester United bringing a fixture that Spurs have done well in in recent seasons, having won five of the last six against the Red Devils.

Some thought that United were beginning to turn a corner after recent wins over Liverpool and Brighton but last week’s draw to Nottingham Forest was a reminder of the problems that still plague Ruben Amorim and his side, and while United remain a threat in attack, their defensive issues are still clear as day against better sides.

However, United’s improved performances have seen their odds improve across the board, with the Red Devils now priced at 5/2 to finish in the top four compared to odds of 17/2 for Spurs to do so.

This turnaround in fortunes has also been reflected in the odds for this fixture, with betting sites now having United as the favourites in the early Premier League odds, with the hosts a decent price underdog.

Tottenham vs Manchester United prediction: Points shared in north London

Both of these sides come into this fixture with something to prove, with neither really having managed to kick on since the last time they met in that winner-takes-all Europa League final in May.

Spurs emerged victorious on that occasion but they have developed little in the months since, and though Frank has taken them into the right section of the Premier League table, there is a feeling that a battle for the European places is the best possible outcome for the season ahead.

United are in similar territory, with the same problems still plaguing Ruben Amorim, and defensive lapses and the concession of chances like those against Forest show that, just like Spurs, a battle for Europe is the absolute best-case scenario at Old Trafford.

Nobody was expecting either of these teams to challenge for the title but fans were probably expecting more consistency and better performances from both, though there have been glimpses from each club.

Spurs’ superb win at Everton was followed by the dismal display against Chelsea, while United’s brilliant win over Brighton came before a below-par showing in the draw to Forest, and in reality this kind of mixed form is what both fans will have to settle for.

However, it makes matches such as this one difficult to predict, for while United seem to be reasonably heavy favourites with the bookies, it is never as black-and-white with these two sides.

While United are arguably playing better football of late, they have still lost one and drawn one of their last five, scoring 11 and conceding eight, with the only clean sheet coming at home to Sunderland.

And Spurs’ attacking woes - which are likely a big part of the odds being as they are – were fully on display against Chelsea, and though Frank’s side have scored seven goals in their last five matches, these seven goals came in just two matches against Everton and Copenhagen.

However, United have kept just one clean sheet, so perhaps they are the perfect side to come up against as Frank looks to ease Spurs’ attacking worries.

While football betting sites have United as favourites, we don’t think the odds necessarily reflect the recent performances – and penchant for soft goals – of both sides, so we think there could be value on betting on a draw and both teams to score.

Tottenham vs Manchester United prediction 1: Draw and Both Teams To Score - 16/5 Ladbrokes

Tottenham vs Manchester United betting tip: Mbeumo to add to goal tally?

Mbeumo has quickly become a key cog in Ruben Amorim’s new-look attack, having completed 90 minutes in eight of his 10 Premier League appearances this season.

The Cameroon winger has scored five goals so far this term, and while he only has one assist, he remains at the forefront of most of United’s good attacking play, which is why Amorim keeps him on the pitch for the entire match more often than not.

While Mbeumo got off to a fairly quiet start to 2025/26, he has exploded into life since the win over Sunderland.

He has notched three goals and one assist in his last four matches for United, while his involvement in the red card for Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez in that 2-1 win proves that he is often involved in United’s most dangerous attacking play, even if he does not provide the finishing touches himself.

Given his past exploits for Brentford, scoring 19 goals in the Premier League last term, he could be an outsider in the Premier League top scorer odds, albeit well off the pace of Erling Haaland.

Mbeumo has scored in two of his last three matches against Spurs, so he knows how to find the net against the Lilywhites, and with the winger in good form and guaranteed to be at the centre of United’s most dangerous attacking play, we think a wager on him to score or assist could prove good value on Saturday afternoon.

Tottenham vs Manchester United prediction 2: Bryan Mbeumo to score or assist - 21/20 Bet365

Tottenham vs Manchester United team news

Tottenham vs Manchester United predicted line-ups

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Police have launched an investigation after a Premier League footballer was allegedly threatened with a gun in north London.

The Metropolitan Police are probing the incident involving Tottenham Hotspur and Italy defender Destiny Udogie.

Tottenham, meanwhile, are providing support to the 22-year-old and his family.

A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of firearms with intent, blackmail and driving without a licence following the incident in September.

He has been bailed while inquiries continue, the force said.

On Tuesday, a Tottenham spokesman said: “We have been providing support for Destiny and his family since the incident and will continue to do so.

“Given this is a legal matter, we cannot comment any further.”

Police were called at 11.14pm on September 6 to reports a man in his 20s had been threatened with a gun in Cockfosters Parade, Barnet.

A spokesman said: “Officers spoke to the victim and, during the course of their investigation, it was also reported another man in his 20s had also allegedly been blackmailed and threatened by the same individual.

“No injuries were reported in either incident.

“A 31-year-old man was arrested on Monday, September 8 on suspicion of possession of firearms with intent, blackmail and driving without a licence.

“He has been bailed while inquiries continue.”

The memory of a football fan is short, but thankfully for Thomas Frank, the gap between matches is even shorter.

Just three days after being booed off after an insipid performance in the loss to Chelsea, Spurs had the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium bouncing with a 4-0 win over FC Copenhagen, with a wondergoal from Micky van de Ven and a controversial red card for Brennan Johnson summing up the best and worst of a Spurs side that remains the most unpredictable in England.

Just as last season offered up one of the most contradictory seasons of football on record – with a 17th-placed finish in the Premier League accompanied by a Europa League win that brought their first trophy since 2008 – Tottenham remain an enigma this term, sitting just two points off second in the league but simultaneously capable of producing performances that offer up just 0.05 xG.

And just a few days after that loss to Chelsea, Spurs produced 3.31 xG against an admittedly poor Copenhagen side, with Xavi Simons, Johnson and Van de Ven among those to impress at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The hosts enjoyed plenty of the ball early on and were rewarded within 20 minutes when Johnson latched onto Simons’ through ball to take it past the goalkeeper and slot in a calm finish to open the scoring,

They continued to dominate possession and though the visitors were able to get forward on occasion, solid defensive displays from the reliable duo of Van de Ven and Cristian Romero meant that Spurs were rarely troubled before half-time.

The second half began in a similar vein and Spurs had doubled the lead within six minutes of the restart as Randal Kolo Muani charged down a clearance before collecting the loose ball and laying off for Wilson Odobert to slot home.

It all felt that the game may well be wrapped up already on the evidence of Copenhagen’s display, though there was still time for controversy as Johnson received a straight red card for a challenge on Marcos Lopez. While the Welshman had made contact with the back of the ankle, it was a bizarre decision from the referee, who changed a yellow to straight red after a VAR review.

While not necessarily Johnson’s fault, the whole scenario summed up Spurs’ penchant for the ridiculous, whether that be moments of madness, incidents of rashness or entire performances of insipidness.

Nobody knows Tottenham’s ability to make it difficult for themselves more than the home fans, and there were murmurs and arguably even nerves around the stadium with their side down to 10-men. Interestingly, these had been visible throughout, with groans and shouts at moments of indecision or poor attacking, notably when Kolo Muani declined to attempt a volley into an open net seconds before setting up Odobert for the second.

This all shows where the minds of the fans and the players are at, the emotions of the home faithful on a knife-edge depending on the quality of a shot or the timing of a decision. It clearly affects the players too, with Kolo Muani noticeably missing a couple of golden chances and perhaps being guilty of being too hesitant at times.

However, even more miraculously, these nerves were gone within seven minutes of the red card courtesy of a wondergoal from Van de Ven. The Dutchman picking the ball up in his own half and driving all the way to the Copenhagen box, evading a couple of half-hearted challenges before sliding an accomplished finish past the goalkeeper from just inside the box.

There was still time for more too, Joao Palhinha ending the game with a tap-in from a great Romero cross before Richarlison rattled the bar with a penalty, perhaps showing that the nerves remained even when the result was secured.

The win means that Spurs rise to seventh in the Champions League league phase table – with several sides still to play tomorrow – ahead of a trip to defending champions PSG. Their final three matches of the campaign consisting of a trip to Slavia Prague and a German double header against Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt.

It was perhaps unlikely that Spurs would finish in the top eight given the quality contained within Europe’s top sides – with five clubs coming into this week with a 100 per cent record – though with the fixtures mentioned above, Frank’s side could well do exactly that.

Whether that constitutes success for the new boss is unclear. How do you measure success after last season?

Nevertheless, the boos last weekend show that one thing the Dane certainly has to deal with is unrealistic expectations. He is just a few months into his new role and may even be a victim of his own success at Brentford, with fans expecting an instant improvement because of a higher budget and better players.

However, as mentioned above, this is a Spurs squad who are six months off one of their worst league seasons on record, and while some might argue that the Europa League win gives the club a platform to build off, the reality is that 2025/26 is a rebuild season. The Postecoglou project needs torn down and rebuilt bit-by-bit, not kept and delicately added to in the hopes of bringing success.

In Frank, Spurs have a man with the pragmatism, realism and talent to execute this rebuild successfully if they give him the chance – he should be judged by results and performances like any other manager, but he should also be afforded a degree more time and sympathy.

Tottenham Hotspur will bid to right the ship as they welcome FC Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday night, just three days after they were booed off the pitch following a 1-0 home defeat to Chelsea in the league.

Manager Thomas Frank confirmed Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence both apologised to him after ignoring his instructions to applaud the booing home supporters, instead making their way immediately down the tunnel.

But while that matter may have been smoothed over Spurs will be fielding a significantly weakened team for the Danish side’s visit, after Lucas Bergvall was forced off against Chelsea with a concussion, joining their long list of injured players.

The club have won just three home games of their last 19, but have much better form in the Champions League, unbeaten in this campaign so far. Copenhagen meanwhile have lost to Qarabag and Borussia Dortmund since an opening draw with Bayer Leverkusen, and have never beaten an English team away from home in any competition.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the game.

When is Tottenham v Copenhagen?

Tottenham host Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday 4 November at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with kick-off at 8pm GMT.

How can I watch?

Viewers can watch the game on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate, as well as on streaming service discovery+.

Team news

Influential midfielder Bergvall will miss at least the next two games, joining a lengthy queue for the Spurs treatment room. Archie Gray, Ben Davies and Dominic Solanke are all out of action, as are the ineligible Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Kota Takai, and Yves Bissouma. Mathys Tel is also ineligible for the Champions League squad.

In better news, Cristian Romero, Wilson Odobert and Destiny Udogie all came off the bench against Chelsea and could find themselves in the starting XI on Tuesday. Spence and Mohammed Kudus both picked up knocks against the Blues but should be fit to feature.

For Copenhagen, Thomas Delaney, Oliver Hojer, Magnus Mattsson, Rodrigo Huescas and Birger Meling are all expected to miss out, while question marks remain over Marcos Lopez, who picked up an injury at the weekend. Centre-back Gabriel Pereira and forward Viktor Claessen may also miss out with illness.

Predicted line-ups

Tottenham XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Palhinha, Sarr, Kudus, Simons, Odobert, Richarlison

Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank has confirmed that Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence have apologised for their conduct following Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Chelsea.

The pair drew attention after the final whistle at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when they ignored Frank’s instruction to applaud the home supporters, who were booing the team.

Instead, stand-in captain Van de Ven and Spence headed directly down the tunnel, leaving their coach looking on.

However, ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Copenhagen, the 52-year-old manager stated the issue is now considered resolved.

The Spurs boss explained: “Micky and Djed came into my office yesterday unprompted and said they want to say sorry for the situation.

“They didn’t want it to look bad or disrespectful and all the kind of perceptions you can get in this media world. So, that was not their intention at all towards me, or the team or the club.

“They were just frustrated with the performance, the loss and the booing during the game.

“We all have a perception and we are very good to have that strongly that, ‘ah that is because whatever, because their mum wasn’t well or they didn’t like the head coach or they were irritated with the performance, or because they lost’. We are very, very good at that but none of us knows.

“That would be my first question to them – how and why? Of course I am happy, because I knew the question would come today, that they were coming in (already).

“It means they care and I think that is very good. They care about the team, the club and in this case me, so happy with that.

“That is very good and we had a good talk about a lot of things, but like everything we will keep it internally.

“Like I said to the players when I said before, it would be very, very, very unusual if I ever throw a player under the bus. We are all humans but I will always protect them.”

Spence is a doubt for the visit of Copenhagen after he sat out training on Monday along with Mohammed Kudus, but Frank confirmed they “could and should” feature on Tuesday.

Quizzed on if the matter with Van de Ven and Spence was now closed after both apologised, Frank added: “For me? Ah yeah. 100 per cent (closed).”

Even if Spence and Kudus do recover to face Copenhagen, Tottenham could be without 10 players due to Lucas Bergvall being ruled out with concussion.

Bergvall took a blow to the back of the head from a clearance by Enzo Fernandez in the fourth minute against Chelsea and despite being eager to carry on, Spurs’ medical staff decided otherwise after doing a concussion test.

The Swedish midfielder will now miss the visit of Copenhagen and the home clash with Manchester United on Saturday.

“Djed and Mo got a knock. They could and should be available,” Frank confirmed.

“Lucas got concussion. Big praise to the medical team because it’s a tricky situation to be in.

“Everything is on it so well done to them because the players’ health is the most important thing.

“He’s out for the next two games.”

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank defended Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence after appeared to ignore their manager after the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday.

Spurs players were subject to boos from the home crowd after the final whistle, and though Frank encouraged his team to do a lap of appreciation around the stadium, Van de Ven and Spence appeared to snub their boss and go straight down the tunnel.

"All the players are of course frustrated," said Frank said when quizzed on the incident. "They would like to do well, they would like to win, they would like to perform well, so I understand that.

"I think it is difficult to be consistent in good times and in bad times. That is why I went around to the fans as I did. It is more fun when we win, I can tell you that."

When pressed on the reactions of the duo and whether their actions were acceptable, the Dane said that the pair “are doing everything they can”.

"I think that is one of the small issues. They perform very well so far this season and everyone is frustrated. We do things in a different way, so I don't think it is a big problem,” he added.

The boos at full-time came after Spurs fell to a third Premier League loss of the season, with Frank’s side having won just one of their five home matches in the league this season. In addition, they have not won back-to-back league matches since August.

And the Dane was somewhat understanding of the fan reaction, while also emphasising that his team needs time to gel.

"They [the fans] did everything they could to back us in a game that we didn't perform well in. Chelsea were better than us on the day," he said.

"There's no doubt, and I keep saying it, that we have a front four that is new. We have to build together with short turnarounds in games. We'll do that. I'm not in doubt that will happen.

"I think every team I've coached has scored a lot of goals. It will happen again in the future here,” he added.

Joao Pedro struck in the 34th minute to help Chelsea inflict more pain on toothless Tottenham with a dominant 1-0 victory to move up to fourth in the Premier League.

Spurs’ horrendous record in this London derby extended after a meek display under new boss Thomas Frank with only one shot on target all match.

Pedro punished slack home defending to break the deadlock 11 minutes before half-time, but he could have walked off with a hat-trick after fine saves throughout by Guglielmo Vicario to deny the Brazilian attacker.

Chelsea’s victory makes it five in a row against Tottenham and 10 wins from the last 12 meetings in all competitions, with Maresca’s young team able to bounce back from a disappointing home loss to Sunderland last weekend.

Loud boos greeted full-time as Spurs suffered another home defeat – their third under Frank in seven matches – as fans make their feelings known after another performance which lacked attacking intent in N17.

Tottenham had captain Cristian Romero available again, but he was only on the bench and surprisingly joined by one-time Blues target Xavi Simons.

Xavi was on the pitch within seven minutes, though, as Lucas Bergvall was forced off despite fierce remonstrations with Spurs’ medical staff with concussion.

The disruption halted momentum, but the visitors soon started to dictate with Vicario forced to get down to save from Alejandro Garnacho before two more stoppages occurred.

Vicario firstly required treatment, but was fine to continue before Tottenham centre-back Kevin Danso had two small bottles thrown at him.

When play did resume, Vicario was required to make an ever better save in the 31st minute after Pedro Porro’s intercepted pass went straight to Pedro, who was brilliantly denied by the Spurs goalkeeper.

Three minutes later and the deadlock was broken as Chelsea claimed a deserved opener via Pedro.

It was a catalogue of errors from Tottenham, with Djed Spence and Xavi sloppy on the ball before Micky van de Ven’s decision to try and dribble past Moses Caicedo was misjudged. The midfielder won back possession and teed up Pedro for a simple opener.

Pedro nearly made it 2-0 after 43 minutes, but his half-volley was expertly tipped over by Vicario.

The derby sparked into life when Rodrigo Bentancur’s poor tackle on Reece James only resulted in a yellow card, which infuriated the visitors and they almost conceded deep into first-half stoppage time.

Randal Kolo Muani and Pape Sarr combined to set up Mohammed Kudus, who had a curled effort parried wide by Robert Sanchez.

Tottenham failed to kick on after the restart with Bentancur unable to capitalise from Danso’s long throw before Frank turned to his bench with Romero and Richarlison sent on after an hour.

Chances remained at a premium with cautions more frequent as Xavi and Fernandez were shown yellow cards – the latter for a tackle which grazed the knee of Palhinha.

The visitors should have put the game to bed in the 74th minute when Pedro Neto fashioned a yard of space in the area, but Vicario saved his effort before away captain James curled over.

Frank had rolled the dice for the last time moments earlier in an effort to raise a grand finale, but instead Tottenham wasted two free-kick chances late on and Chelsea should have added a second in stoppage time.

Substitute Jamie Gittens blazed over with the goal at his mercy after a fine pass by Pedro, who was thwarted one final time by the excellent Vicario to ensure it finished 1-0.

Tottenham Hotspur host fierce London rivals Chelsea in an exciting derby battle in the Premier League this evening.

The Blues were stunned last time out in the league by Sunderland, but rebounded nicely in the Carabao Cup to ease past Wolves. Enzo Maresca rested most his starting XI in midweek and recalls his stars to the line-up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Thomas Frank’s Spurs enter the weekend in third after victory at Everton, but their hopes of silverware were hit by defeat at Newcastle in the Carabao Cup midweek.

Last year’s game saw a comedy of errors in a chaotic 4-3 win for the Blues, who can draw level with their rivals with another win on Saturday night.