Amid a season full of disappointing defeats for Tottenham Hotspur, there has at least been one small joy for Ange Postecoglou’s side: playing Manchester United.
WATCH LIVE –Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United
As they prepare to meet for the third time this season on Sunday (11:30 am ET), both sides find themselves stuck in an historically bad moment of their club’s history. With 13 Premier League defeats already (and 14 games still to play), Spurs (14th - 27 points) are barreling toward the club’s worst season since 2003-04 when they lost 19 times and finished 14th. And things aren’t any better for Manchester United (13th - 29 points), who have finally bottomed out (maybe) after years of slowly sinking as a result of numerous regrettable managerial hires and player signings. The Red Devils were also on the wrong end of Spurs’ best results of the season — 3-0 in the PL in September, and 4-3 in the League Cup quarterfinals — serving as Dr. Manchester United, for the notorious “Dr. Tottenham.”
Spurs’ injury crisis appears to be relenting at long last and as many as six players could make their long-awaited returns from injury this weekend. Chief among them are hopefuls Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario and Brennan Johnson, but any combination of the six will give Postecoglou new options to change the game in the second half, rather than simply trying to finish each game with 11 healthy players on the field. Ruben Amorim doesn’t have an injury crisis to point to as the main reason for his side’s poor results since he took over back in November (4W-2D-7L in the PL, and 9W-3D-8L in all competitions), with few, if any, signs of improvement in nearly three months.
How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 11:30 am ET Sunday (February 16)
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — London
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming:Premier League on Peacock
Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus
OUT: Richarlison (lower leg), Radu Dragusin (ACL), Dominic Solanke (knee - MORE), Wilson Odobert (thigh), Cristian Romero (quad) | QUESTIONABLE: Micky van de Ven (fitness), James Maddison (undisclosed), Destiny Udogie (thigh), Guglielmo Vicario (fractured ankle - MORE), Timo Werner (thigh), Brennan Johnson (calf)
Manchester United team news, focus
OUT: Mason Mount (thigh), Luke Shaw (foot), Jonny Evans (muscular), Lisandro Martinez (knee), Altay Bayindir (other)
Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United prediction
Despite the injuries and the results, Spurs show a fight spirit each and every time they take the field, and that’s about all you need to beat United these days. Spurs 2-1 Man United.