Premier League preview: United v Spurs

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will go up against predecessor Jose Mourinho in one of the most hotly anticipated clashes of the season, as both sides look to finish the first part of this hectic campaign on a high note.

United are, of course, a game behind the rest of the league after our late finish to 2019/20, while eighth-placed Spurs have already crammed seven games in since mid-September, including three since last Sunday alone.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the weekend…

ESSENTIAL INFO

Kick-off at Old Trafford takes place at 16:30 BST and fans in the UK can watch the match live on Sky Sports. Supporters can also follow our rolling updates on ManUtd.com and within our Official App, while MUTV will provide live build-up, radio commentary and reaction from 15:25 BST.

FORM GUIDE

Both sides come into this contest in good form, with United having won each of our last three matches in all competitions. Two of these victories came in the Carabao Cup, against Luton and Brighton, while we racked up our first three points of the Premier League season with a dramatic 3-2 success at the Amex Stadium last weekend. Spurs have a win and a draw since their opening-day defeat to Everton, but Jose Mourinho’s side have successfully negotiated their way to the Europa League group stage with three consecutive wins in the play-offs, the last of which was a 7-2 thrashing of Maccabi Haifa on Thursday. The capital club are also through to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, having seen off Chelsea on penalties after a 1-1 draw earlier this week.

TEAM NEWS

Harry Maguire is set to return for the Reds, having missed out on the midweek cup win at Brighton through a minor ankle knock. Centre-backs Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones are still missing, while Andreas Pereira is in the process of finalising a loan move to Lazio. Aside from that, it should be an otherwise clean bill of health for Solskjaer’s side. As far as Spurs are concerned, it appears that Sunday comes too soon for Gareth Bale to make his awaited second debut for the club. The Welshman has returned to training but wasn’t included in Ryan Giggs’s latest national selection. Son Heung-min was initially ruled out but Mourinho has suggested he has an outside chance of playing, while Giovani Lo Celso is a doubt after picking up a problem on Thursday.

ONE TO WATCH

Unsurprisingly, Spurs’ star forward Harry Kane looks to be the visitors’ danger man, with the England captain having started the campaign in sparkling form. The 26-year-old hit a hat-trick against Maccabi Haifa to take his club tally for 2020/21 to six from seven games, and he also leads the Premier League assist charts, with five – incredibly, four of those were for Son during the recent 5-1 win over Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

United v Tottenham is one of the top-flight’s most played fixtures, with the sides being present in the First Division/Premier League for over four decades. United have generally had the upper hand in M16, losing just three of the 28 editions of this fixture in the Premier League era and winning five of the last six. Last time out at Old Trafford, a Marcus Rashford double either side of Dele Alli’s spectacular effort gave us all three points in Mourinho’s first game back since departing the Reds in December 2018.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistants: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
Fourth official: Craig Pawson
VAR: Stuart Attwell
Assistant VAR: Stephen Child

RIVALS WATCH

SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER

Chelsea v Crystal Palace (12:30 BST)
Everton v Brighton (15:00 BST)
Leeds v Manchester City (17:30 BST)
Newcastle v Burnley (20:00 BST)

SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER

Leicester v West Ham (12:00 BST)
Southampton v West Brom (12:00 BST)
Arsenal v Sheffield United (14:00 BST)
Wolves v Fulham (14:00 BST)
UNITED v Tottenham (16:30 BST)
Aston Villa v Liverpool (19:15 BST)