Preview: Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League basement club Tottenham Hotspur will endeavour to end their winless streak when they travel to Old Trafford to face another bottom-half club in Manchester United on Saturday evening.

These two teams butt heads eight months on from the Red Devils securing a 2-0 home win over Spurs, courtesy of goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes.

Match preview

After finishing last season on a high by securing a third-placed finish in the Premier League, Man United have accumulated just five points from their opening five games this term, the club’s joint-lowest tally at this stage of a top-flight campaign (also picking up five in 2014-15).

The Red Devils are without a win in their last four domestic matches (D2 L2), with a painful 3-2 home defeat to Brighton in the EFL Cup – one they had led by two goals in the first half – followed by a last-gasp 1-1 draw at Fulham before the international break, courtesy of a deflected 89th-minute equaliser from Matheus Cunha.

Sitting 12th in the Premier League table and already 10 points behind rivals Man City at the summit, Man United head coach Michael Carrick is not bothered by the off-field ‘noise’ around his position. However, he will be aware that the margin for error is slim as he tries to recapture the pragmatic magic that rescued their previous campaign.

Improvements in defence are required if Carrick wishes to engineer a swift turnaround, as the Red Devils have kept just one clean sheet in seven matches across all competitions this season – a 4-0 Champions League win over Sabah – conceding at least twice in four of those fixtures.

Man United have also won just one of their last nine encounters with Tottenham (D3 L5), though that was the aforementioned two-goal success at Old Trafford last season; the Red Devils last won back-to-back games over Spurs between March and October 2022.

© Iconsport / SUSA

For the first time since the 2008-09 season, Tottenham sit rock bottom of the Premier League table after their first five matches, and they are also one of only three teams (along with Bournemouth and Fulham) still searching for their first top-flight win of the campaign.

Spurs ended their miserable four-game goal drought in the Premier League by netting two late strikes against Aston Villa prior to the international break, but it was not enough to mount a memorable comeback as they fell to a 3-2 home defeat – their third league loss of the season.

Head coach Roberto De Zerbi has taken full responsibility for Tottenham’s poor start, but he has urged his new-look squad – filled with over £300m worth of summer signings – to show more ‘fight’ and improve defensively after conceding ‘unacceptable’ and ‘stupid’ goals against Villa.

Spurs’ long-term slump is laid bare by the fact that their haul of 18 Premier League points in 2026 is the lowest of any team to remain in the division throughout the calendar year.

Furthermore, extending their winless streak to six matches this weekend would represent just the fourth instance in the club’s history that they have started a league season without a single victory from their opening six fixtures.

However, Tottenham can take some comfort from having won three of their last four PL matches away from home, while De Zerbi is bidding to become just the fifth Premier League manager in history to win his first two visits to Old Trafford, having previously prevailed there as Brighton boss in 2023 (3-1).

Manchester United Premier League form:

Manchester United form (all competitions):

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

Team News

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Man United trio Manuel Ugarte (knee), Matthijs de Ligt (back) and Tom Heaton (thigh) all remain unavailable for selection, but there is hope that Amad Diallo (ankle) can return to the matchday squad and make his first appearance of the season.

Benjamin Sesko (shin), Patrick Dorgu (hamstring) and Noussair Mazraoui (back) all picked up injuries over the international break and have emerged as doubts, while Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Karl Darlow will have unspecified issues assessed.

Summer signing Carlos Baleba should be available to make his long-awaited debut, either from the start or as a substitute, and could rival Mainoo - if fit - Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos for a place in midfield, behind captain Fernandes, who has scored three of his four goals against Spurs at Old Trafford.

As for Tottenham, Dejan Kulusevski (knee/fitness), Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert (both knee) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (ankle) all remain sidelined, while Micky van de Ven (finger) and Jan Paul van Hecke (foot) are both doubts after picking up injuries on international duty with the Netherlands.

Marcos Senesi and Tosin Adarabioyo are both contenders to start in the heart of the defence if either Van de Ven or Van Hecke are not fit to feature, while Archie Gray is expected to fill in at right-back once again in the absence of Pedro Porro (thigh).

Mohammed Kudus will be pushing to start his first game of the season, but De Zerbi may instead opt for former Man City duo Savio and Omar Marmoush out wide, while Dominic Solanke – who has scored three goals in his last four games versus Man United – is set to lead the line.

Manchester United possible starting lineup:

Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; Mainoo, Tielemans; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Rashford; Cunha

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Kinsky; Gray, Senesi, Van de Ven, Robertson; Gallagher, Tonali, Fernandes; Savio, Solanke, Marmoush

We say: Manchester United 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Man United will be desperate to strike first to exploit a devastating trend that has seen Tottenham fail to win any of their last 48 matches across all competitions when conceding the opening goal, with 37 of those games coming in the Premier League (D8 L29).

Both sides have looked compromised by defensive vulnerabilities and now have mounting injury concerns to deal with, but the Red Devils should ultimately possess the necessary firepower to outscore their visitors and return to winning ways on home soil, leaving De Zerbi’s men rock bottom.