Spurs vs Man Utd Preview

By Dara O'Brien, published on 30/10/21

It’s beyond doubt now that both managers headlining Saturday’s clash between United and Spurs are under immense pressure from their respective clubs and fans. Spurs sit one point and place ahead of United in the league table, however this isn’t something the North London team will be bragging about with United having gathered only 14 points through their first 9 games, and only 1 over their past 4. Tottenham come into this game with their last 5 league results reading as LWWLL, while United’s is even worse being LLDLW.

Some fans have even taken it upon themselves to label this showdown as “El Sackico” – I know, wordplay genius. But the truth is that there is a chance that one of the two teams’ managers will be “relieved of their duties” off the back end of this game; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job is in huge jeopardy, and it is rumoured that he has been given 3 games to “save his job”. Nuno, however appears to have been afforded more time, with reports claiming that the Tottenham board are willing to give Nino Espirito Santo more time in charge of the club, given that he only took the reigns at the start of this season.

Given the predicament that Ole finds himself in, and the way that the team has been playing recently, it seems likely that major changes will be made to the starting XI. He is also thought to have a full squad to pick from, apart from Paul Pogba who is unavailable through suspension after a red card vs Liverpool last Sunday.

Ole will need to experiment majorly and hope that he and his team stumble upon the winning formula while doing so – if this happens then there might still be a chance for Ole to be successful as a Manchester United manager. In my opinion, Ole should be looking to revert to the team that played so well for the majority of last season – including players like Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani. While the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo has been successful so far, there’s no doubt that playing Cavani provides more fluidity up front, better link up play with the players behind him as well as more energy in pressing.

There is also a serious decision to be made by Ole with regards to his back four. Throughout the last 18 or so months, his back 4 has always been Ole’s easiest selection of personnel, however after a serious dip in form particularly from Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, there is an argument to be made for Alex Telles to come in to replace the English left back, and for Harry Maguire to be the one to make way for the seemingly once again fit Raphaël Varane instead of Victor Lindelof.

If all these decisions were to indeed be made by Ole, we’d see a back line of Telles – Lindelof – Varane – Wan-Bissaka, and a front-three of Rashford – Cavani – Greenwood. It seems that many among the fan base would welcome these changes, but there’s still a strong chance that we’ll see Cristiano Ronaldo and/or Jadon Sancho feature in attack.

With it being a “make or break” game for Ole, there could be plenty of changes, or he could play a similar team to what he’s played all season – it’s very tough to tell.

If things don’t go well for the reds, it could be a farewell to Ole. There isn’t much that we can predict about this game, but the one thing that I think we’ll see is a fighting performance from United. After being thrashed by Liverpool last week, the players will want to redeem themselves, as well as fight for Ole’s job. They’ve stuck with Ole throughout the rough patches over the last three years and I think we’ll see more of the same vs Spurs.