HomeFeatured ArticlesTottenham Vs Manchester United Preview | Team News, Stats and Key Men

Tottenham Vs Manchester United Preview | Team News, Stats and Key Men

Following their abysmal performance in the 6-0 loss versus Manchester City last Sunday, Spurs host another Manchester club on Sunday; David Moyes’ Manchester United side, who are unbeaten in their last 10 in all competitions.

Their past meetings with Manchester United at White Hart Lane have been almost one-sided in terms of results; Spurs have failed to win against Manchester United at the Lane since 2001, a 3-1 win, and a run of twelve Premier League games, drawing four and losing eight; however, they have drawn three against United in their last five Premier League meetings at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham Vs Manchester United

Team News

Spurs are without Danny Rose and Christian Eriksen, with Nacer Chadli expected to return to the squad in the next week; while Michael Carrick will miss the visit to his former club, with Robin van Persie and Nemanja Vidic also struggling to make the visit to N17.

Interesting Stats

Manchester Utd have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last (9) away from home.

Spurs haven’t scored an open play goal in 6 hours of football; Roberto Soldado scored their last goal scored in open play.

Furthermore – excluding a penalty – Spurs have failed to score with any of their last 78 shots in the Premier League [via Stats Zone]

Spurs have averaged under 2.5 goals in (10) Premier League games this season, only Southampton have averaged more games with under 2.5 goals with (11).

Key Men:

Sandro

One of the key components in the cog at Spurs, and while they have been abysmal in front of goal over the last 12 Premier League games, since the Brazilian has returned from injury, he is starting to find the form he had last season.

Despite making just four appearances, and four substitute appearances; Sandro has made (11) tackles, giving the Brazilian a 81.82% tackle success, averaging a tackle every 33 minutes.

Sandro defensive stats
Sandro defensive stats

Sandro has made 11 interceptions so far this season for Spurs, showing his ability to read the game as well as his excellent positional sense.

In terms of 50-50’s, Sandro has averaged under 50% in terms of success rate with aerial (45%) and ground duels (48%).

When analysing his possession won, Sandro shows his anchorman capabilities in the heart of midfield: the Brazilian has been dispossessed only four times, whilst winning possession (10) times in the defensive third, (22) times in the heart of midfield, and just the once in the attacking third.

If Spurs are to get anything out of the game versus Manchester United on Sunday, Sandro will have to be on the top of his game, and will have to be wary of not getting a early booking like the previous fixture against Manchester City.

Wayne Rooney

The Manchester United No10 has been sensational so far this season, in both the Premier League and Champions League.

Wayne Rooney has bagged six goals and five assists this campaign thus far, creating a chance every 36 minutes for his team-mates, creating 26 chances in the process.

His direct approach at times has created a total of (30) dribbles, of which (20) have been successful.

Rooney creative stats
Rooney creative stats

In terms of his attacking play, Rooney has totalled 29 shots, of which 16 have been on target – resulting in six goals. When breaking down his stats in terms of shooting accuracy, the English striker has a 55% shooting accuracy, a chance conversion of 21% and a clear-cut chance conversion of 25%.

Rooney has been a thorn in the Spurs side since making his move from Everton to Manchester United, scoring (7) goals in 12 appearances for United.

Defensively, Rooney has been outstanding in that department too.

In his 10 Premier League starts, Rooney has a 39% total ground 50-50 percentage, whilst averaging 26% in aerial 50-50 duels.

In comparison to Sandro, Rooney has made a total of (8) tackles, giving him a tackle success of 75%.

Wayne Rooney will be key to anything that United do on Sunday at White Hart Lane; it will be no surprise if the English forward scores first, along with his usual all-action performance.

Prediction: Spurs 1-1 Manchester United

Spurs face a tough task at home, and while their away performances had been of a good standard until the 6-0 Manchester City defeat, their home form and performances have been way below average, despite picking up points, resulting in David Moyes’ side feeling they could grab an important three points; but, will also expect Andre Villas-Boas and his team to give the fans a good reaction to their awful performance at the Etihad last weekend.

I predict it will be a tight affair, and with the stat that the last four results at White Hart Lane have been draws, I feel that the game between these two sides will end 1-1.

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