A fascinating Premier League clash is in prospect on Sunday as under-pressure Manchester United host in-form Tottenham at Old Trafford (16:30).
United are eight points behind fifth-placed Tottenham after 20 games of the 2023-24 season and Ange Postecoglou's visitors have won five of their last six matches in all competitions.
- Tottenham to win
- Brennan Johnson to score at any time
- A red card in the match
Tottenham Should Cause problems
Tottenham beat Manchester United 2-0 in August in Ange Postecoglou's first Premier League home game and they should be backed to complete a league double over the Red Devils on Sunday.
United came from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 in their last league fixture at Old Trafford but their home ground has been anything but a fortress this season.
Before the win over Villa, Erik ten Hag's men had lost seven of their previous 12 home games in all competitions, including last month's chastening 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth.
Tottenham's makeshift defence was exposed in a 4-2 loss at Brighton last time out but they had won five of their previous nine away games under Postecoglou, also drawing 2-2 at Arsenal and 3-3 at Manchester City.
Spurs are missing the inspirational Heung-Min Son, who is leading South Korea at the Asian Cup, but Germany forward Timo Werner looks a smart loan signing and highly-rated centre-back Radu Dragusin has arrived from Genoa.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven should also be available to bolster the defence and the visitors have an edge in terms of freshness, having beaten Burnley 1-0 at home in the FA Cup last Friday while United travelled to Wigan for a 2-0 win on Monday night.
Spurs Winger To Score
With top scorer Son absent on international duty, Tottenham need other attacking players to step up and winger Brennan Johnson has shown plenty of intent in recent weeks.
The Wales international has scored only once in the Premier League this season, in November's 2-1 defeat at Wolves, but he has been racking up plenty of attempts at goal.
Since finding the net at Molineux, Johnson has had 18 shots in eight league appearances and he had six efforts, four of them on target, in last week's cup victory over Burnley.
The 22-year-old scored eight Premier League goals for Nottingham Forest last season, having notched 18 times in the Championship in 2021-22, and he may well rediscover his scoring touch at Old Trafford.
BRENNAN JOHNSON TO SCORE ANYTIME
Rivals May Cross Disciplinary Line
There is plenty on the line for both clubs on Sunday as United desperately need to kickstart their disappointing league season and Tottenham can move into the top four, above rivals Arsenal, with a win in Manchester.
A competitive clash is expected and backing a red card to be shown by referee John Brooks could prove profitable.
There have been seven red cards in Tottenham's first 20 Premier League matches under Postecoglou while United had Diogo Dalot dismissed for dissent in last month's 0-0 draw at Liverpool.
Their Champions League group-stage campaign was undermined by red cards for Casemiro against Galatasaray and Marcus Rashford against Copenhagen and another dismissal could be on the cards this weekend.
