The Special One returns to Old Trafford on Wednesday 4th December 2019 as his Tottenham Hotspur take on Manchester United in the Premier League. The now self-proclaimed ‘humble one’ seems more relaxed compared to when he left Old Trafford just over 11 months ago. A victory against his former club would make it four out of four wins at his new club.
The Special One Returns with Point to Prove
It is an understatement to suggest that Jose Mourinho returns to Manchester United with a point to prove. He was burnt by his time there and encountered run-ins with Paul Pogba on numerous occasions. When Mourinho first arrived in England, it was he who held power over players but the power now is very much in the hands of the players. Mourinho is keen to avoid any such ructions at Spurs and that goes some way to explaining why his time away from management has calmed his mood;
For now, it seems that Mourinho has taken stock and is ready for his new challenge.
Born Winner
Despite his less than happy time at Manchester United, Mourinho still has the second-highest percentage of any manager in the Premier League era at the club. Only Sir Alex Ferguson is above him. Two trophies also proved that even in troubled times he is a born winner. A fact that Tottenham hope to capitalise on and United might yet regret forgetting. His record compared to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over 22 games is a win percentage of 50%. Solskjaer’s record is 27.3%.
Team News
Paul Pogba remains sidelined with an injury whilst Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic will be assessed ahead of the match.
Paulo Gazzaniga remains in the Spurs goal as Hugo Lloris continues to work toward a January return to action. So far Jose Mourinho has not made many changes to his starting 11. Thus it will be interesting to see how he lines up against his old team. Serge Aurier has been playing higher up the field with left-back being covered on Saturday at home to Bournemouth by Jan Vertonghen.
Special One Returns to Humble Manchester United?
Manchester United need to win to stop their alarming slide into mid-table obscurity. Jose Mourinho, when a pundit, has had a great reception from the United faithful on his returns there but will they afford him such politeness on Wednesday?
Solskjaer is looking nervously over his shoulder and defeat here could see the pressure mount, with ironically, Mauricio Pochettino still being admired by the board.
For Jose Mourinho, he will see this as another opportunity to push Spurs back into the top four mix and leave Old Trafford wondering what they let go.
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