Manchester United kick off their home Premier League campaign with a match against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night. This will be the Londoner's opening league fixture after their game with Everton was postponed last Saturday due to the riots that took part in the capital recently. They were in Europa league action on Thursday night and brushed aside the challenge of Hearts with impressive ease despite a lengthy injury list and the continued absence of talisman Luka Modric.
United will look to build on a successful start to their title defence last Sunday when they edged past a stubborn West Brom. A worrying aspect that emerged after the game was the news that Vidic, Ferdinand and Rafael were all consigned to a period on the sidelines having picked up injuries of varying severity. It looks like Ferdinand will return a bit sooner than expected but the other two could be missing for significantly longer.
The Opposition by Greg Theoharis from Dispatches from a football sofa
It never seems to be a quiet pre-season at White Hart Lane and this year was no different with the ‘will he/won’t he’ tug of war over Luka Modric descending into an epic saga akin to a deleted scene from Gone With The Wind. It’s got to a point though where many of us, to coin a phrase ‘frankly, don’t give a damn’. If he goes, he goes. If he stays, he stays.
Of more concern is Harry’s failure to attract any notable names to the squad when other rivals, chiefly Manchester City, are spending money wantonly. His propensity for self-publicism is beginning to grate and I think many of us are preparing ourselves for his inevitable departure.
As for the season ahead, there’s no reason why we can’t challenge for another Champions League spot. The players that got us there are still around and if Harry does actually pull his finger out, Arsenal and Liverpool may just be looking over their shoulders. We’ve got some good young players coming through too. It’s whether Harry has the faith to throw them in. The Europa League should be a focus. Last season’s European exploits should stand us in good stead in that regard.
And thankfully we don’t have any of that ‘year ending in one’ nonsense to exacerbate the pressure on us.
Tactics
I have a feeling that the game could well be won and lost by the effectiveness of the wide men on either side. Lennon and Bale represent a potent threat to United with their express pace and movement. Patrice Evra certainly will not look forward to facing Lennon who has given him a torrid time in previous seasons and considering he will be returning from injury, it could be a tough experience for the inconsistent Frenchman. On the other flank, Bale will be looking to recapture his form from early last season when he terrorised right backs across Europe with his direct running. Against United, he was kept in check by Rafael who used his pace and kept close by without giving him the room to turn and run.
For United, Young and Nani will fancy their chances against Walker and Assou-Ekotto whose talents lie further up the pitch in my opinion. I would expect both to try to exploit their occasional defensive positional weakness by getting in behind them after swift interchange of passing with the likes of Rooney and the midfielders.
United would also look to exploit the experimental partnership of Kranjcar and Livermore in the heart of the away side's midfield with neither particularly excelling from a defensive point of view. Redknapp will be hoping that injury victim Modric is passed fit to play as he would add another dimension to the Tottenham side. He is much admired within Old Trafford and a solid display could heap pressure on Levy to loosed a grip that has remained tight since the early part of pre-season. The home side, however, will need to keep a close eye on the movement of Van Der Vaart who will play in the space between the back and the midfield and be hard to pick up. There will be times when Evans and Jones will be tempted to step out to confront the wily Dutchman but it could lead to gaps appearing that could be fatal with Defoe busily sniffing around.
United
With Vidic and Ferdinand injured, the major selection headache comes in the centre of defence. I have gone for Jones and Evans based primarily on Sir Alex's press conference this morning. He would no doubt have thought long an hard over choosing Smalling to partner Jones as they dovetailed successfully for the England U21's in the summer. With the uncertainty of De Gea's early season form, it would have brought a semblance of stability and indeed familiarity to the team but Jonny Evans has had a fine pre-season and deserves his chance. It also keeps Smalling at right back where he has been so impressive in recent weeks. He will need to be on his toes as he will be up against Gareth Bale who, if on his game, can trouble any full back. On the left, I would expect Evra to return after missing the West Brom match due to injury.
Michael Carrick would presumably have had a full week of training so I would expect him to return in the centre of midfield with the excellent Cleverley dropping down to the bench. Anderson gets another chance to shine after a solid start to the season where he will be looking to maintain recent consistency to add to his undoubted talent. Monday will be a good opportunity, bearing in mind the injuries Spurs have in the centre, to stamp his authority onto a big game, something that has mostly eluded him since he arrived.
With the wide men in such good form, the likes of Park and Valencia (when he returns) will have to bide their time from the bench. Nani and Young have looked threatening on either flank and will be the suppliers in chief to my predicted front line of Rooney and Berbatov. Although Welbeck has performed admirably both last weekend and at Wembley, he noticeably tired as the games progressed so a watching brief from the bench will do him no harm. Another option could be to play Park on the left and move Young inside but I would view this as unlikely.
Score Prediction
Bearing in mind that Spurs have some injury problems in midfield and at the back, I am going to go for a comfortable 3-1 United win. Their lack of Premier League action will also count against them as the intensity may be a shock after just pre-season and an outing against Hearts. My guess on goal scorers is Evans, Rooney and Young with Defoe scoring for Spurs.
A big thanks to Greg for his insight into Spurs as they move into the new season. You can catch more of his excellence on his wonderful blog Dispatches from a football sofa by clicking this link and follow him on Twitter.
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United with a 3-0 victory. Berba hat-trick ;-)
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