Manchester Evening News

After booking their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Friday night, focus now switches back to the Premier League for Manchester United.

As a result of automatically qualifying for the Europa League last-16, United have the rare luxury of a clear midweek this week, meaning they are not in action again until Sunday, facing Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Despite recently progressing in the FA Cup and in the Europa League, United's league form has been terrible in recent weeks, highlighted by a run of five defeats in their last eight matches. They were beaten 2-0 by Crystal Palace at Old Trafford in their last league outing.

With an extended period of time to prepare for the trip to Spurs on offer this week, head coach Ruben Amorim will be hoping a full week on the training ground will be worth its weight in gold.

The players were put through their paces at Carrington on Monday and below are five things that we picked out from the training session:

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim will enjoy the rare luxury of a clear midweek this week after his side automatically qualified for the last-16 of the Europa League last month.

United finished the league phase of the new Europa League format third in the table, meaning they are one of eight clubs who have automatically progressed to the first knockout round of the competition.

Those who finished between ninth and 24th now face a two-legged play-off tie to try and join United in the last-16, with the first legs of those ties taking place this Thursday evening. The return legs will take place the following Thursday.

United went into their concluding league phase fixture against FCSB in Bucharest just under a fortnight ago with the knowledge that a win would be enough to see them through. Second half goals from Diogo Dalot and Kobbie Mainoo sealed a routine 2-0 win.

Amorim wanted to avoid the play-off round at all costs, saying ahead of the 2-1 win over Rangers a week earlier: "We need to win it because it is really important for the classification to try and avoid two games in the play-offs to have more time to train, so everything is important in this moment."

As a result of winning five and drawing three of their eight league phase outings, United can plan for Sunday's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium without the distraction of a midweek assignment.

United have experienced something of a fixture marathon since Amorim's first game in charge on November 24, playing 20 games in just under 11 weeks. The longest period they went without a game during that time was just seven days.

That seven-day period came between United's 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield, which they had six days to prepare for since their previous outing, and their FA Cup third round triumph over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

United's performances against Liverpool and Arsenal last month rank as the best they have produced under Amorim thus far, meaning it may not be coincidental that they have come on the back of extended periods of time on the Carrington training pitches.

"Obviously, it always helps when you have time to train and to prepare the games a little bit more," said United captain Bruno Fernandes the day after the victory at Arsenal. "It is important."

As a result of qualifying for the Europa League last-16 automatically, nine days will have past since United's last outing when they arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon. It will mark the longest gap they have had between matches since the November international break.

The Portuguese chief has regularly banged the drum about the importance of getting to spend time on the training pitches at Carrington ever since arriving from Sporting Lisbon three months ago. His 3-4-2-1 system has forced United's players to adapt to a completely new way of life.

Any transitional period is going to feature setbacks, and United have experienced no shortage of those recently, but getting time on the training ground to continue adapting to the head coach's demands and philosophy should only stand the players in good stead.

However, the onus will be on them to prove Amorim right come kick-off time in north London on Sunday afternoon. Once they cross the white line, there is only so much the United head coach can control.

United do not have a midweek fixture again until facing Ipswich Town at Old Trafford on February 26, meaning both this week and next week are clear of a midweek assignment. United face Everton in what will be their very last visit to Goodison Park a-week-on-Saturday, six days after the clash with Spurs, meaning they will get more adequate training time next week.

United's best performances so far under Amorim have followed a solid number of days worth of training, meaning it should not be too great a surprise if United turn up in north London and add to Spurs' woes. However, Amorim needs his players to ensure history does repeat itself.

Mathys Tel was undoubtedly the headline name on the move during the winter transfer window.

Tel, 19, attracted interest from Manchester United alongside Christopher Nkunku, his fellow Frenchman, but both are now in London. Arsenal and Chelsea were also credited with an interest in the teenager.

However, as Nkunku stayed at Stamford Bridge, a move to Tottenham Hotspur came back from the dead thanks to a change of heart from Tel, which adds an extra layer of intrigue to the two teams' match in north London next weekend when the forward is in line to make his Premier League debut. Here is a look at some of the latest reports and MEN Sport's view.

Tel take two?

German journalist Christian Falk suggested Mathys Tel would still like to move to United in the summer. "Whether Tel stays with Bayern beyond the summer or moves on, it's entirely up to him. If he can make the step to United, he would like to do it," he said via CaughtOffside."

MEN Sport says: United returning for Tel this summer could become an option again, depending on how he does at Tottenham for the rest of this season. If the teenager impresses and Bayern are willing to do a deal again, then poaching the player from Spurs could prove to be some shrewd business.

Garnacho and Mainoo verdict

The former United chief scout, Mick Brown, believes selling Alejandro Garnacho would have gone against one of the club's traditions. "It's a bit ridiculous when you see players like Kobbie Mainoo and Garnacho being talked about in connection to leaving the club," he told Football Insider. "Keeping those players at the club is a tradition of Man United."

The new ticket prices won’t shift the needle too much in terms of making a huge jump in revenue for Manchester United, certainly when we are talking about a club that is tracking at around £600-700m in revenue, they are still in that elite club bracket despite on-field performance.

So it won’t shift the needle too much but it does shift it and that is an important consideration. If you can get a little bit more out of everything, you are squeezing that margin and there are a lot of clubs going down that road.

The argument from the clubs is that unless we build a new stadium, and United are looking at that, we have a set number of seats. If we charge a little more for those seats, we make a bit extra.

That is the aspect from the club but the tricky thing is the fans and we are in a cost of living crisis, there are challenges with ticket prices and it is a significant expense.

The reality, especially for a club like Manchester United, if somebody chooses not to take up that seat, somebody else will fill it and that is the ruthless thing. It hurts the fans but if one person chooses not to go, someone else will.

Raising ticket prices is always going to be an option that clubs look to do, even if it is fine margins, it is always there and it is not going away. There’s a chance that could happen (if United don’t reach Europe) but there is a limit that clubs will know internally where they will want to go to because it could blow up in their face.

If you have not got European football, ticket price increases will be considered to make up some of the shortfall as will looking for new sponsorship partnerships.

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy potentially sacking Ange Postecoglou could benefit Manchester United this winter transfer window.

Spurs are two places below United in the Premier League table, in 15th, and only eight points above the relegation zone. They lost 3-2 away to Everton on Sunday, while Brighton & Hove Albion beat Ruben Amorim's side at Old Trafford.

Tottenham, however, have not won a league match since mid-December and have lost all three of their outings this year. Injuries have hardly helped Postecoglou, with a dozen players missing their game at Goodison Park, but pressure is increasingly mounting on the coach.

United does not play Spurs until the middle of next month, but Levy's potential decision to part ways soon could aid the Reds in any attempts to sign Kolo Randal Muani on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. Tottenham are reputedly interested in the France international, and with their first-choice striker Dominic Solanke sidelined right now, they could offer the forward a clear route into the starting line-up.

However, a change of coach could complicate any negotiations with the player, who would assumedly be less willing to join a team without a coach, especially with considerable interest from other clubs. MEN Sportreported United had not ruled out the possibility of loaning Randal Kolo Muani earlier this month.

They are open to signing a striker and previously considered Kolo Muani some 18 months ago, but eventually chose Rasmus Hojlund instead. Juventus are the frontrunners but are facing a delay in completing the deal, which could offer United a lifeline.

Tottenham Hotspur are, seemingly, the latest team to join the race for Marcus Rashford in the January transfer window, but Manchester United might struggle to agree a deal with their Premier League rivals.

Rashford is one of the United players made available for transfer this month after falling out of favour since head coach Ruben Amorim arrived in November. A possible January departure has been tipped for the 27-year-old with interest from Europe and England growing.

"For me personally, I think I'm ready for a new challenge and the next steps," he told Henry Winter in an interview before Christmas. Amorim has claimed that could be at Old Trafford, though, when adding United are "the biggest challenge in football."

Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan have been heavily linked with Rashford - with both teams supposedly interested in signing him on loan. Tottenham are now reportedly showing an interest with Ange Postecoglou keen to improve his attacking options this winter.

The Daily Mail have added Spurs to the list of teams considering a pursuit for Rashford. However, any move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could be incredibly unlikely.

Back in December, Postecoglou was asked about Rashford following his comments. "No interest. I don't care. Not interested, he's a Manchester United player," he said bluntly.

"A very good player, they have plenty of good players. But I manage my players and other managers will manage their own players. In terms of Marcus' situation, I have no real desire to examine it any further.

"If I looked at everybody that we were linked to, I would have no time to do anything else to be honest. I have got other people to do that part of the process. For us, we've been pretty disciplined in what we're trying to build here and we'll continue to be so.

"[Is that a no?] That's a not on my radar. You can ask me about Marcus, but you can also ask me about every single Premier League footballer and I'll say the same thing."

Manchester City winger Jack Grealish is being monitored by Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, according to the Daily Mail.

However, the MEN understands that there is little chance that the England international and former Aston Villa star will leave the Etihad Stadium in January.

Pep Guardiola is already facing a depleted squad as a result of the extensive injury list in the North West. City are without Rodri, who is set to be out until the end of the season with a knee injury, plus Oscar Bobb, Ruben Dias, Matheus Nunes and John Stones who all sidelined. Already in recent weeks, illness has ravaged through the ranks forcing Kyle Walker and Ederson to sit out of their recent run.

The Daily Mail have reported that Spurs and Eddie Howe's side are believed to be monitoring the winger's situation. However, in their report there is no mention as to whether it will be next month or in the summer.

Grealish has struggled to live up to the expectations of his big-money move from Villa Park in 2021, despite picking up a healthy collection of trophies during that time. He has managed just one assist in 13 Premier League appearances this season with his last goal for City coming in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace in December 2023.

Guardiola has already revealed they will be scouring in the upcoming window for additions, with his thin squad already facing mounting issues.

"If we can, we have to add players, definitely. We struggle especially at the back, in the middle," he said prior to the Boxing Day draw with Everton.

"Saying that, I don’t know what is going to happen in the transfer window. In winter time it is not easy, but everyone is aware even the players ask themselves ‘Oh, are we going to add some players please?'"

He reiterated the sentiment after ending their eight-match winless run against Leicester City. He added: "In some positions we need help," Guardiola said.

"When we're all together we're the team we were, but with important players out for weeks and months it's so difficult."

Manchester United's woes have continued into the holiday season after they suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth at Old Trafford.

A week ago it was Manchester derby delight, now Ruben Amorim has been left with more questions than ever from witnessing his team's latest performance. Bossing possession and attempts on goal did not matter as Dean Huijsen nodded a looping header beyond Andre Onana at a set-piece.

With that United flaw exposed once again, Noussair Mazraoui hacked down Justin Kluivert in the penalty area to allow the Dutchman to score a penalty, then Antoine Semenyo wrapped up proceedings with a counter-attack. This final result before Christmas Day leaves the club 13th in the Premier League table, facing an uphill struggle if they are going to catch up to their rivals chasing European football.

Victory for Arsenal on Sunday cemented their place within the top-four, Manchester City continue to fall down the table after losing to Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur are due to take on Liverpool this evening.

With that said, MEN Sport takes a look at United's upcoming matches compared to these major rivals...

December 26 vs Wolves (A) at 5.30pm - Premier League

A Boxing Day trip this year takes United to Molineux where they will face Wolverhampton Wanderers. If their own battering was not worrying enough, a switch in manager from Gary O'Neil to Vitor Pereira this week has seen the next opposition claim a 3-0 away victory at Leicester City this afternoon.

December 30 vs Newcastle (H) at 8pm - Premier League

The final match of the calendar year will be against fellow European hopefuls Newcastle United. Alexander Isak will be the danger man full of confidence having just scored a hat-trick against Ipswich Town.

January 5 vs Liverpool (A) at 4.30pm - Premier League

And after the turn of the year, the first fixture of 2025 is against bitter rivals Liverpool at Anfield. As things stand they have control of the Premier League, sitting first place this Christmas.

January 12 vs Arsenal (A) at 3pm - FA Cup

As part of their upcoming fixtures, United will enter the FA Cup at the third round, as is customary for Premier League teams. They were given one of the toughest draws possible, facing Arsenal away.

Interestingly, former Gunner Paul Merson has said his old side should 'sacrifice' the fixture.

January 16 vs Southampton (H) at 8pm - Premier League

Returning to Premier League action after that cup foray, Southampton visit Old Trafford. Like Wolves the bottom-placed side too have just switched managers, going from Russell Martin to Ivan Juric.

Arsenal next five fixtures:

December 27 vs Ipswich Town (H) at 8.15pm - Premier League

January 1 vs Brentford (A) at 5.30pm - Premier League

January 4 vs Brighton (A) at 5.30pm - Premier League

January 12 vs Manchester United (H) at 3pm - FA Cup

January 15 vs Tottenham (H) at 8pm - Premier League

Man City next five fixtures:

December 26 vs Everton (H) at 12.30pm - Premier League

December 29 vs Leicester City (A) at 2.30pm - Premier League

January 4 vs West Ham (H) at 3pm - Premier League

January 11 vs Salford City (H) at 5.45pm - FA Cup

January 14 vs Brentford (A) at 7.30pm - Premier League

Tottenham Hotspur next five fixtures:

December 22 vs Liverpool (H) at 4.30pm - Premier League

December 26 vs Nott’m Forest (A) at 3pm - Premier League

December 29 vs Wolves (H) at 3pm - Premier League

January 4 vs Newcastle (H) at 12.30pm - Premier League

January 12 vs Tamworth (A) at 12.30pm - FA Cup

Tottenham have been dealt a major update on one key players' availability for the Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Manchester United. The two sides will meet at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, on Thursday evening, with a place in the last-four up grabs.

This past weekend, both teams won away from home with Spurs thumping Southampton 5-0 after United beat Manchester City in dramatic fashion courtesy of two goals in the final stages, from captain Bruno Fernandes and player-of-the-match Amad at the Etihad Stadium.

Ruben Amorim made a number of bold decisions for that Manchester derby, with Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho dropped from the matchday squad and Mason Mount included in their starting XI. Unfortunately for the latter, he lasted just 14 minutes before being replaced by Kobbie Mainoo due to injury.

On the topic of Mount's new issue, injury problems may prove key in deciding the winner with Spurs' potential list of absentees far bigger. For United, Luke Shaw is expected to be the only player joining Mount in being unavailable while Ange Postecoglou could be without up to nine players.

Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero have already been ruled out of the match with Destiny Udogie and Djed Spence both doubts. Postecoglou was hoping for a major return to arrive just in time for the tie, but there is now no chance of that happening.

Rodrigo Bentancur has missed the last five Premier League games due to suspension handed out by the FA after his comments towards teammate, and captain, Son Heung-min. Spurs appealed the ban, but a new FA statement has announced no change will be made to the initial suspension seven-game suspension.

"An independent appeal board has dismissed an appeal by Rodrigo Bentancur in relation to his recent suspension.

"An independent Regulatory Commission imposed a seven-match suspension on the Tottenham midfielder for an aggravated breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to a media interview," the statement read. "That appeal was dismissed following a hearing and the seven-match suspension remains as ordered by the regulatory commission.

"The appeal board's written reasons for its decision will be published in due course."

Jadon Sancho removed a Tottenham Hotspur corner flag during Chelsea's 4-3 win over their London rivals, an act that some fans have interpreted as a jibe at Arsenal's reliance on scoring from corners.

The winger scored only his second goal since joining the Blues on loan from Manchester United to halve their deficit after Spurs went 2-0 ahead. Sancho's strike sparked a comeback at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It was the first of four unanswered goals to put them into an ultimately unassailable lead. However, the former England international caught the eye after Enzo Fernandez scored Chelsea's third to put them ahead for the first time on Sunday evening, particularly after picking up a corner flag.

After the team ran over to celebrate in front of their away end, Cole Palmer first displaced the corner flag before being pushed and pulled away by teammates Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto. Sancho then took possession of the prop with the Spurs crest on its flag before tossing it to the ground.

Blues fans spotted what happened during the celebrations and believe it could have been a dig at their Premier League title rivals, Arsenal. Chelsea's win moved them two points clear of them—and four behind Liverpool, having played a game more—after the Gunners only drew 1-1 with Fulham hours earlier.

Their equaliser at Craven Cottage came from a corner, as both in midweek against United did, too. Since the start of last season, Arsenal have scored 23 goals from corners, more than any other team in Europe's top five leagues.

Some fans have criticised Arsenal for their reliance on set-piece goals, likening Mikel Arteta's team to Stoke City. Dimitar Berbatov made this point on Wednesday night.

He quipped: "Arsenal are the new Stoke City, right? Depending on set pieces, which can give you the win."