Tottenham Hotspur travel to Old Trafford this weekend to face Manchester United on Sunday evening. The Premier League fixture pits Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs side, who are just one point off the top four, against Erik Ten Hag’s Red Devils, who are adrift in eighth place. Read for the latest team news, including the status of Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner, as well as our Tottenham predicted lineup ahead of this crucial league tie.
Tottenham Predicted Lineup vs Manchester United
How Tottenham Have Lined-up Recently
Guglielmo Vicario has been Tottenham’s number one this season and has been a revelation. The Italian has, so far, proved a worthy successor to Hugo Lloris, who ended his 11-year spell in North London and departed for Los Angeles Football Club this month.
Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie occupy the full-back positions, while Ben Davies and Emerson Royal have been playing as makeshift centre-backs in the absence of Christian Romero and Micky van de Ven.
Rodrigo Bentancur returned from injury earlier this month to join Pape Sarr in a midfield double-pivot, though the latter did pick up a hamstring injury against Bournemouth. Despite initial concern, the midfielder has been passed for fitness and has joined Senegal for their Africa Cup of Nations run.
Giovani Lo Celso has played as a ten recently, with Son Heung-min on the left and Dejan Kulusevski on the right. Brennan Johnson has also seen minutes out wide. Richarlison has earned the starting striker spot and impressed in recent weeks. So far the Brazillian striker has six goals and three assists in 17 league appearances.
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Tottenham’s Recent Form and Tactics
Tottenham are in hot form, winning five out of their last six matches – scoring 14 in the process. This run of success includes breezing past a Bournemouth side that was on a seven-game unbeaten streak, who themselves had secured a 3-0 victory over Erik Ten Hag’s men. Spurs secured a convincing 3-1 victory over The Cherries, demonstrating their own ability to thrive in transitional football.
Despite the Cherries spending large spells in possession, they could never seem to find the final pass due to Tottenham’s well-drilled defence – despite the North London side missing both of their star centre-backs.
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However, a blip did occur as the Lilywhites lost 4-2 to Brighton. In fact, by the 63rd minute, Postecoglou’s side were 4-0 down, before launching a late but respectable attempt at a comeback. While fans will certainly be concerned about the performance at the Amex Stadium, their late siege around the Brighton box did result in their side ending positively.
New Spurs signing Timo Werner should slot right into the side, replacing Son Heung-Min who is unavailable as he is competing at the Asia Cup. His pace and ability to beat a defender parallel the South Korean’s skill set very well, although his finishing and decision-making will need to be sharp to be close to matching Son’s level in his absence.
Tottenham Team News vs Manchester United
Postecoglou revealed the latest injury news in his Friday press conference. His Spurs side will be without two vital defenders in Cristian Romero and Davies. Davies will be out for “a month or so” with a hamstring issue, while Romero has “just started training” and is not expected to be fit to start.
On the positive side, a duo of new signings in Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner should be available and could debut against Manchester United. The Australian manager told reporters:
“From what I understand, both will be eligible to play, which is the first thing and, secondly, Radu has been playing up until last week so he is in good condition. And Timo hasn’t played for a little while – obviously, they had their winter break (in Germany) but he has been back in training for the last seven to 10 days. So both will be available which is a good thing.”
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Lo Celso will be unavailable for selection, with the club unsure of when he will be able to return. Dane Scarlett will also miss out with an injury in training, and so will Alejo Veliz who went off with an injury against Bournemouth.
James Maddison, Manor Solomon, and Ivan Perisic have all been out for months and are not expected to return the side in the near future. Son Heung-Min is away at the Asia Cup, while Ismail Sarr and Yves Bissouma are both representing their countries at the African Cup of Nations.
Tottenham Predicted Lineup vs Manchester United: 4-2-3-1
GK: Guglielmo Vicario
LB: Destiny Udogie
CB: Micky van de Ven
CB: Radu Dragusin
RB: Pedro Porro
CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur
LW: Timo Werner
AM: Dejan Kulusevski
RW: Brennan Johnson
ST: Richarlison
