Predicted Manchester United Line-up To Face Tottenham Hotspur In The Premier League

After a convincing 2-0 victory over Swansea in Carabao Cup, Manchester United will turn their head towards the 10th Premier League fixture of the season, with a visit of Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham being scheduled for the weekend.

Jose Mourinho’s men suffered their first defeat of the season last week, after an optimistic Huddersfield Town got the better of their defence. This defeat saw Manchester City go 5 points clear of us, while Tottenham came level on points with us after a convincing 4-1 win over Liverpool.

The Lilywhites, on their part, are coming on the back of a 3-2 defeat at hands of West ham United in Carabao Cup and the fact that United have won their previous three Premier League home fixtures against Tottenham will be a factor as well. Injuries, however, might affect United’s form one way or the other. The likes of Paul Pogba, Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Ander Herrera will all be missing the fixture and that leaves Mourinho with just Matic as the only fit and available central midfielder.

Having said that, this is how Mourinho might line his men up against Tottenham this weekend.

Expected Line-up (4-2-3-1)

Manager: Jose Mourinho

Goalkeeper: David De Gea

Absolutely no doubt about it! De Gea has been an ever-present guardian for Manchester United and has kept 7 clean sheets in 9 Premier League appearances. A no-brainer.

Defence: Valencia, Jones, Smalling, Young

Antonio Valencia started the season brilliantly, but has slowly faded away. His blistering runs, however, remain his trademark but with Ben Davies looking in top form, the Ecuadorian will have to be on his toes.

With Bailly still a doubt, Mourinho will surely use Phil Jones along with Chris Smalling. Jones picked up a knock against Huddersfield and missed the Carabao Cup fixture, but will be a part of the team. With no one noteworthy to choose from, Smalling is Mourinho’s obvious choice.

Left-back remains one of the most confusing spots given that Mourinho has a host of options to choose from. But given how Young has performed, expect the Englishman to start the game.

Central Midfield: Matic, Blind

Again, a no-brainer! Matic has played every minute of the Premier League this season and will start for sure. Ander Herrera is a doubt for the game as he picked up an ankle injury in the midweek game. The duo Blind and Matic needs to be on its toes given that Eriksen and Alli are in top form.

Attacking Midfield: Lingard, Mkhitaryan, Martial

Lingard was exceptional against Swansea last time out and might be given another run given that Mata utterly disappointed against Huddersfield. The Englishman will be up against Ben Davies and will be expected to match his pace.

Expect Mkhitaryan to start. The Armenian scored against Spurs last time out at Old Trafford and will be hoping to have a similar impact. He started his season brilliantly, but just like his other teammates, his form has faded away eventually. Yet, he remains United’s most creative outlet.

Martial was completely anonymous against Huddersfield, but expect him to start as Rashford is a doubt.

Striker: Romelu Lukaku

The striker hasn’t scored for a long time. United will be relying on him against Tottenham and he certainly needs to up his game. A lot will be expected of the Belgian given the importance of this game.