NBC Sports

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 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

Expect more chaos in Spurs v. Man United clash  NBC Sports

Usually we are talking about Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United as a clash between top four hopefuls, but this is all about 13th place.

That’s right. 13th.

WATCH — Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United

Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs have been ravaged by injuries all season, while Ruben Amorim is still only a few months into his time in charge of United but there’s been no consistency as the Red Devils’ rollercoaster ride continues.

Below we look at the Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United odds and give a prediction for how the game will play out on Sunday in north London.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United odds

(Betting odds provided by our partner, BetMGM) BetMGM is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on BetMGM for the first time after clicking our links.

Kickoff: 11:30am ET, Sunday (February 16)

Odds: (+140) Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United (+170) | Draw (+270)

TV Channel/Stream: Peacock

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United prediction

Ange Postecoglou watched on shaking his head for most of the game as Tottenham Hotspur lost at Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The hits just keep on coming for Spurs, but Postecoglou credited his small group of fit players for doing an “unbelievable job” over the last two and a half months to keep playing as injuries have piled up.

After losing 4-0 at Liverpool on Thursday as they were knocked out of the League Cup at the semifinal stage, Spurs were outplayed by Villa for vast swathes of the game and the 2-1 scoreline flattered them.

Here’s the latest Ange Postecoglou reaction as Tottenham’s fans were far from happy with the performance.

Ange Postecoglou reaction

“Disappointed we don’t progress. It wasn’t a great start,” Postecoglou told the BBC. “It’s the last thing you want. That sort of gave them some momentum going into the 45 minutes and we really struggled to get some control. We also had an enormous chance at 1-0 to equalize. Second half we had to open up a little bit which allowed them some opportunities on the counter but at the same time I thought we got a better grip of the game and unfortunately fell short. When you go a goal down it gives the opposition some momentum and confidence and we struggled then to get a grip on the game. Ideally you want to try and wrestle control really early and we didn’t do that.”

What was his message to Spurs’ players at half time, as they improved in the second half?

“We are still in the game. As disappointing as the first half was I said ‘we are only 1-0 down and had a big chance to make it 1-1.’ We just needed to hang in there and the second half was a lot more like ourselves and the second goal made it a bit more difficult for us but I always felt we were a threat going the other way but unfortunately not enough.”

Postecoglou then gave an impassioned speech about how this small squad of players have done an incredible job to hang in there over the last few months as so many injuries have hit Spurs.

“Nothing really changes. We’ve got a couple of weeks now where we don’t have midweek games. This group of players has done an unbelievable job for two and a half months. Unbelievable job,” Postecoglou said. “Can’t praise them highly enough for the effort they’ve put in. A really small group of players playing twice a week since the middle of November. They’ll get some opportunity to recover now. We’ll get some players back over the next couple of weeks and look forward to resetting and finishing the season strong... Europe is still very important to us and we are in a great spot there. We expect to get some players back over the next two weeks which is the most important thing because it gives a bit of a respite for the group that have been doing it for the last two and a half months.”

Postecoglou admitted that only having a small group of players to deal with such a heavy fixture list over the last few months has taken a big toll on them.

“Of course it does. You can see that. They are just going out there giving everything they can. But obviously it would be a lot better for them if we had some help,” Postecoglou said. “We will get some players back, which will help. We had 11 first team players out today. Take that out of any team for one game and they’ll struggle. We’ve been doing it for two and a half months. We’ll get some players back and it will help.”

Marcus Rashford could make his Aston Villa debut versus Tottenham Hotspur when Premier League big boys clash in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.

The Manchester United loanee is one of several new faces for Villa, who added Marco Asensio, Donyell Malen, Axel Disasi, and Andres Garcia during the January window.

Spurs have also added in January, and there was even more urgency given their status in the top-fllght. Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky has been thrown into the deep end, while Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel have also taken their Spurs bows.

Tottenham are languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League while Villa are into the Champions League final 16, but both sides know what an FA Cup run can do for a season.

How to watch Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur live, stream link and start time

Kick off time: 12:30pm ET Sunday

Venue: Villa Park — Aston

TV Channel/Streaming:ESPN+

Aston Villa team news, focus

OUT: Tyrone Mings (knee), Pau Torres (ankle), Matty Cash (muscular) | QUESTIONABLE: Ollie Watkins (groin), Ross Barkley (calf)

Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus

OUT: Richarlison (lower leg), Radu Dragusin (ACL), Dominic Solanke (knee - MORE), Brennan Johnson (calf), Destiny Udogie (thigh), Guglielmo Vicario (fractured ankle - MORE), Wilson Odobert (thigh), Timo Werner (thigh), Cristian Romero (quad), James Maddison (undisclosed)| QUESTIONABLE: Micky van de Ven (fitness)

Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction

Liverpool is down 1-0 in its League Cup semifinal versus Tottenham Hotspur and looks to Anfield for a second-leg boost on Wednesday.

The tournament’s all-time champions (10) are also the defending victors, having beaten Chelsea in the final last season despite a tremendous list of injuries.

MORE — League Cup history, winners, finals

That will be met with a nod and wink from Spurs supporters.

Lucas Bergvall gave Ange Postecoglou’s men a first-leg win against the odds, as Spurs were — and remain — injury-hit and were out-attempted 14-9 in North London.

How to watch Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur live, stream link and start time

Kick off time: 3pm ET Wednesday

Venue: Anfield — Liverpool

TV Channel/Streaming: Paramount Plus

Liverpool team news, focus

The Reds are largely healthy, and Arne Slot can give the match his full focus with a trip to Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup next before next week’s Merseyside derby in the Premier League. He may split his “top unit” to some degree, but this will be a strong Liverpool looking to overcome a one-goal deficit.

QUESTIONABLE: Trent Alexander-Arnold (thigh)

Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus

Spurs just can’t get closer to full health, as it seems like the minutes that have taxed their players during the first part of this long injury bug have worn down those who had to pick up the slack. Spurs best bet may be the defend but that goes against Postecoglou’s principles. Will being 90 minutes from a final change that?

OUT: Radu Dragusin (knee), Dominic Solanke (knee - MORE), Brennan Johnson (calf), Destiny Udogie (thigh), Guglielmo Vicario (fractured ankle - MORE), Wilson Odobert (thigh), Timo Werner (thigh), Cristian Romero (quad), James Maddison (undisclosed)

Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction

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Ange Postecoglou saw his Tottenham side lose 3-2 at Everton on Sunday, as Spurs remain 15th in the Premier League table after a run of five defeats in their last six league games.

Tottenham’s fans in the away end were chanting ‘we want Levy out’ as they shared their displeasure at the performance and the current situation with the squad.

Postecoglou’s side were undone after a sloppy start which saw Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Iliman Ndiaye ripping them to shreds and both scoring, then an own goal from Archie Gray rubbed further salt into the wounds after a woeful first half. Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky kept the score down as Spurs could have been 5-0 down at half time to an Everton side not renowned for scoring goals.

Dejan Kulusevski pulled one back in the second half and even though Richarlison made it 3-2 late on, Tottenham couldn’t grab anything and they didn’t deserve to.

The Australian coach was seething on the sidelines throughout as he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, as Spurs’ Premier League record since they lost 4-1 to Chelsea in November 2023 now stands at 19 wins, seven draws and 24 defeats from 50 games.

Ange Postecoglou reaction after Tottenham lose at Everton; transfers, injuries, belief

Postecoglou didn’t hold back when assessing the poor performance, but he did distance himself from his future being linked with the injury crisis Tottenham are going through.

When asked if he was concerned his future is being impacted by the number of injuries and the lack of reinforcements in the transfer market, Postecoglou said he wasn’t focusing on that and said the club are trying their best to bring in new players.

“You know it’s more about getting the players help rather than me help,” Postecoglou told reporters. “I separate myself from that. This is not about me, but what is about me right now is I have the responsibility of the group of players I do have to try and get us through this. That is what we’ve got to focus on. For me to focus on anything else is abstaining myself from the responsibility I have. I’m just determined to get us out of this.”

Reflecting generally on the game, the Australian coach was clear that Spurs just weren’t good enough. Once again.

“It is a difficult result,” Postecoglou told our partners in the UK at Sky Sports. “We struggled to really get in the game in the first half and that gave Everton momentum. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb but the players certainly tried to claw the game back but we just fell short.

“We couldn’t really take control of the game. We struggled to get any traction in terms of with and without the ball and that allowed to get in behind us. We had some chances where we probably should have capitalized early on, when the game was still in the balance, but in the end it wasn’t enough.”

Postecoglou went with a back three from the start and it didn’t work and he was asked about having to make so many changes in defense due to injuries.

“Obviously we are pretty stretched. We literally had 11 players fit enough to start the game with. That is on me trying to restructure a little bit. We weren’t in total control of our organization, particularly early on, and Everton capitalized on that and we paid the price for it. Radu [Dragusin] got a head knock, he’s got a pretty big cut so I had to take him off at half time and restructure,” Postecoglou added.

“Second half we had the fair share of the game. We started strongly and I thought Richarlison made a difference and a presence and Mikey Moore gave us something on the left.”

Asked if Tottenham are looking to make moves in the transfer market, Postecoglou said he has now problem with how the club are approaching it.

“There will be urgency but it doesn’t need me to say it, everybody can see that. I have no issue with the way the club are going about it, they are working hard and trying to find solutions for us,” Postecoglou said. “These players need help for sure and hopefully over the next 10 days we’ll find a solution for it... It’s really tricky, we’re not the only ones in the market for players. The club is working hard to find a solution for them.”

Is Posetcoglou’s faith in what he’s doing at Spurs wavering?

“No it doesn’t. If you look at the situation we’re in, it will eventually dissipate,” Postecoglou said. “I certainly hope and believe it will. We’ll give ourselves the opportunity to get consistency in performance and results. I certainly haven’t lost belief or determination to turn it around and the players showed in the second half that they haven’t either.”

Richarlison scores consolation goal v. Everton  NBC Sports

Everton are absolutely flying at half time against Tottenham.

WATCH LIVE – Everton v Tottenham

Below is everything you need for Everton v Tottenham.

How to watch Everton vs Tottenham live, stream link and start time

Kick off time: 9am ET Sunday

Venue: Goodison Park — Liverpool

TV Channel: USA

Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com

Everton vs Tottenham score: 3-0

Calvert-Lewin 13', Ndiaye 30', Gray OG 52'

Everton vs Tottenham live updates! — By Joe Prince-Wright

Calvert-Lewin flashes a shot wide

Spurs haven’t improved and Everton look the more likely to score.

Richarlison on for Dragusin at half time

Spurs are going for it. Richarlison is on for center back Dragusin. Gray has gone to center back with Richarlison going up top and Son on the left.

Half time: Everton 3-0 Tottenham

What a first half from Everton. David Moyes’ side are flying. Tottenham all over the place at the back and the goalkeeper is keeping the score down.

Gray deflects in a shot... Toffees in dreamland! — Everton 3-0 Tottenham

A corner is recycled and Tarkowski heads it back across goal and Gray deflects it in under pressure. The camera pans to Ange Postecoglou who is absolutely seething on the sidelines. Then Daniel Levy is shown in the stands and he has a face like thunder.

Kinsky saves well from Tarkowski

Excellent free kick whipped in by Lindstrom and Tarkowski has a free header on goal which Kinsky saves well at the near post. Tottenham’s goalkeeper is keeping the score down.

Brilliant goal from Ndiaye! — Everton 2-0 Tottenham

Iliman Ndiaye with a brilliant goal as he surges forward, shows a bit of a skill and lifts the ball home. Goodison goes wild!

Kinsky pushes Mangala’s shot on to the post!

Calvert-Lewin tees up Mangala and his low shot is going in but Kinsky pushes it onto the post and Calvert-Lewin can’t finish the rebound. Everton looking really dangerous but Spurs are all over the place at the back. Game is so open.

Calvert-Lewin makes a hash of a chance at the other end

One long ball forward and DCL is clean through. Such a poor touch at the crucial moment allows Kinsky to save. That was a big chance for Everton to double their lead.

Son should score! Such a poor finish

Kulusevski is in and he picks out Son who is unmarked, 12 yards out and has a clear shot at goal. But he scuffs his effort straight at Pickford and that is an easy save for the Everton goalkeeper. What a big chance for Spurs. You would expect Son to finish that. Ange can’t believe it.

Calvert-Lewin with a lovely piece of play to finish — Everton 1-0 Tottenham

Everton win the ball back again and Gueye plays it in to Calvert-Lewin. He has so much to do but wriggles past Gray and gives Kinsky the eyes to slot home. There was a question of handball by Lindstrom in the build-up.

Kinsky denies Lindstrom

Everton win the ball back and Lindstrom has a pop which Kinsky pushes wide. Much better from the hosts.

Dominic Solanke injury update — Latest news

There were reports suggesting that Dominic Solanke has suffered a knee injury for Tottenham, which is the last thing they need right now. And Solanke was left out of the squad for the trip to Everton, with Ange Postecoglou confirming the injury happened in training.

Everton lineup

Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Mangala, Gueye; Lindstrom, Doucoure, Ndiaye; Calvert-Lewin

Tottenham lineup

Kinsky; Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Spence; Sarr, Gray, Bergvall; Kulusevski, Son, Maddison

Everton team news, focus

OUT: Armando Broja (ankle), Dwight McNeil (knee), Seamus Coleman (calf), Timothy Iroegbunam (ankle), James Garner (back), Youssef Chermiti (thigh)

Tottenham team news, focus

OUT: Destiny Udogie (thigh), Micky van de Ven (hamstring), Cristian Romero (quad), Guglielmo Vicario (fractured ankle - MORE), Rodrigo Bentancur (concussion - MORE), Wilson Odobert (thigh), Ben Davies (thigh), Timo Werner (thigh)

Everton vs Tottenham prediction

At some point, one lucky thing is going to go Spurs’ way and the floodgates will open. Everton fans just know it’s going to happen against them. Everton 1-3 Tottenham.

Everton vs Tottenham preview

Postecoglou joked last week that he hopes to be the one benefiting from the rapid development of Spurs’ sensational 18-year-old duo of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall a few years down the road, but recent results have been such that he might simply be hoping to still be in charge when four key defensive starters return from injury in a few weeks. After winning just one of their last 10 games in the Premier League, Tottenham (24 points) sit 14th in the table, much closer to the relegation zone (8 points) than the top-four (14). Just one of Spurs’ 11 defeats this season (joint-most in club history after 21 games) has come by more than one goal, thus the 14th-place side that has lost more than half its games has a +11 goal difference, which is 5th-best in the PL. Positive regression, when?

As for Moyes, just imagine what a win might do for morale at Everton after losing three straight and going winless in their last six league games. The Toffees (17 points - 16th) have won just three games and scored just 15 goals this season (both 2nd-fewest in the PL), so Moyes could really use a new-manager bounce to put some space between his new (old) club and the relegation zone (currently just one point).