Manchester United are all set to host Tottenham Hotspur on an emotionally charged afternoon at Old Trafford on Saturday. United will be looking to continue building on their sensational start to life under Michael Carrick and make it four wins in four. Spurs, meanwhile, will be looking to use a superb second half display against Manchester City to resuscitate their injury-hit domestic season, and what better way to do it than deliver a statement performance (and result) against an in-form Manchester United?
Here's everything you need to know about the match:
How to watch
The match will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 in the UK, NBC in the U.S., Jio Hotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates here.
Key Details
Kick-off time: Saturday, Feb. 7 at 12.30 p.m. GMT (7.30 a.m. ET; 6 p.m. IST and 11.30 p.m. AEDT)
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
Referee: Michael Oliver
VAR: Paul Tierney
Injury News
Manchester United
Matthijs de Ligt, D: DOUBT, back
Mason Mount, M: OUT, knock
Patrick Dorgu, D/M: OUT, hamstring
Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur
Dejan Kulusevski, M: OUT, knee
Ben Davies, D: OUT, ankle
Kevin Danso, D: OUT, toe
Cristian Romero, D: DOUBT, illness
Pedro Porro, D, OUT, thigh
Micky van de Ven, D: DOUBT, knock
James Maddison, M: OUT, ACL
Lucas Bergvall: M: OUT, leg
Rodrigo Bentancur, M: OUT, hamstring
Mohammed Kudus, F: OUT, muscle
Richarlison, F: OUT, hamstring
Talking Points
United and the emotion of February 6
United host Spurs a day after the 68th anniversary of the Munich disaster. The club will, of course, honour the Busby Babes and all those who were on that ill-fated flight pre-match, and playing well on this kind of occasion is something that could drive this team and their head coach closer to their fans.
If they can channel the deep emotion that will be sweeping across Old Trafford on Saturday and set out to play "the Matt Busby Way" -- full of attacking intent and great wing play and that almost stubborn dedication to entertain -- that would be well received as the best tribute. Channel it right, and a win's there for the taking against struggling opposition, a win that would keep them in the top four going out of another weekend. And for Carrick it will lend more credence to calls to make his appointment permanent in the summer.
Let it overawe them, allow Spurs to dominate the game, and the doubts and cracks that are never too far away in this post-Ferguson era could well rise up again from all corners. With the top four (or five) race as tight as it is, that's something United can ill afford happening.
Solanke and Simons give Frank hope
Dominic Solanke's goals and Xavi Simons' guile gave Thomas Frank arguably his best 45 minutes as Spurs manager last weekend, when they came from behind to draw Man City 2-2. Solanke, sidelined for so long with serious injury issues, has been a much-needed boost for Frank's side, who've lacked sharpness up top for vast swathes of this season. That, plus his record against United -- he has scored five goals in his last five appearances against Manchester United in all comps -- will stand Spurs in good stead come Saturday.
More important, though, will be Simons. Playing in a free floating #10 role once the formation shifted from a disastrous three-at-the-back to a 4-2-3-1 in that second half against City, Simons ran the game with a combination of nifty passing and intelligent positioning. With the form that Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo are in, he'll find those pockets much harder to find at Old Trafford, but if he can -- and draw out either Harry Maguire or Lisandro Martínez -- Solanke could well feast ahead of him.
Will Carrick mix things up with Sesko?
The only change Michael Carrick has made to his United XIs over his first three games back has been bringing in Matheus Cunha for the injured Patrick Dorgu last weekend. There is no real reason for Carrick to change up something that's clearly working -- the interplay between the forward line of Amad, Bryan Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes and Cunha/Dorgu has been a joy to watch, but Benjamin Sesko made a real case for starting on Saturday with his cameo, and winner, against Fulham. It was the big Slovenian's fourth goal in four games, and the finish last weekend smacked off a forward with confidence coursing through him.
In his (very) short stint so far, Carrick has shown an ability to keep his attacking players happy even if they start on the bench, but Sesko's physicality and aerial threat provide an alternative that he could well be tempted to unleash from the off.
Can Spurs exploit holes highlighted by Fulham?
As solid as United have been under Carrick, Fulham stood toe-to-toe with them for parts of their last match, especially late in the second half. They did this by having runners in the channels, trying to take up pockets between the central midfielders and the centre-backs and not panicking under the United high press. Bypassing that first layer often left Fulham with favourable numbers in attack.
If Spurs can do that, get Simons on the ball and feed Solanke quickly, they could find some joy. Against Fulham, United conceded 1.94 xG, much more than they did against Arsenal (0.7xG) and Man City (0.45 xG) and theirs is the blueprint Thomas Frank will be looking to take inspiration from.
What do the numbers say?
Tottenham really like playing Man United these days. They've not lost to United in their last six Prem games (W3 D3), and indeed last eight games across all competitions (W5 D3). The last time United went that long without a win in just league competition was between 1914 and 1921. That eight game unbeaten run across all comps, meanwhile, is their longest ever run without defeat for Spurs against United.
Having said that, Spurs are really struggling in the league right now. They've not won any of their last six games (D4 L2)... however they travel to Old Trafford with hope. Five of their seven league wins this season have come away from home.
Michael Carrick, meanwhile, has won all three of his matches since returning as United manager. The last time United won four in a row was in Feb '24, under Erik Ten Hag.