With their respective Premier League campaigns aren’t going quite as they had hoped, Tottenham and Manchester United should both be desperate for a win when they meet in the League Cup quarterfinals in north London on Thursday.
Tottenham sit 10th in the PL table with Ange Postecoglou three games shy of a season and a half on the job, and some Spurs fans are starting to lose patience for another manager they believe has over-promised and under-delivered. Nearly 16 years on from the club’s last trophy, Postecoglou can buy himself loads more time if he were to end the drought and lift a piece of silverware at Wembley Stadium on March 16. Tottenham’s confidence will be sky-high (relatively speaking) after beating last-place Southampton at the weekend and snapping a three-game winless run in league play.
Manchester United have, of course, won a handful of trophies since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure over a decade ago now (if you can believe it’s been that long), but the Red Devils have been nowhere near the consistent power they were (5 trophies in 11.5 seasons, compared to 6 PL titles alone in the 12 seasons prior). Now under the leadership of Ruben Amorim and fresh off a derby comeback for the ages over the weekend, six points is all that stands between them and the top-4. Derby, League Cup quarterfinal, Festive Fixtures — a fantastic time to build some momentum.
How to watch Tottenham vs Manchester United live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Thursday (December 19)
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — London
TV Channel: Paramount+
Streaming: Paramount+
Tottenham team news, focus
Spurs’ injury crisis somehow got worse this week, as Destiny Udogie lasted just 28 minutes before coming off against Southampton (more precautionary than anything, according to Postecoglou) and captain Son Heung-min was subbed off at halftime after picking up a knock in the first half.
OUT: Micky van de Ven (hamstring), Cristian Romero (quad), Guglielmo Vicario (fractured ankle - MORE), Richarlison (thigh), Rodrigo Bentancur (suspension - MORE), Wilson Odobert (thigh), Ben Davies (thigh) | QUESTIONABLE: Son Heung-min (knock), Destiny Udogie (thigh)
Manchester United team news, focus
OUT: Mason Mount (undisclosed), Luke Shaw (foot) | QUESTIONABLE: Noussair Mazraoui (knock)
Tottenham vs Manchester United prediction
At this point, all Amorim wants is for United to play a low-tempo game with few chances for either side and the winner to be decided in one or two moments at the end, because they struggled mightily when Arsenal and Nottingham Forest upped the tempo on them. Spurs won’t let them get comfortable the way that City did, and I’m just not sure United can cope right now. Tottenham 2-1 Manchester United.
