Tottenham’s trip to Manchester United represents the most significant clash in the Premier League this weekend, not least because both clubs find themselves separated by goal difference alone in the table ahead of Saturday’s early kickoff.
But after thumping Liverpool 4-1 at Wembley last weekend, Tottenham will enter the 12.30pm meet looking upwards at the title race; whereas United will be looking nervously over their shoulders, fearing the visitors could quickly leapfrog them.
In order to do that, however, Mauricio Pochettino must find the answers to these four crucial questions…
What’s the game-plan?
The sheer variety of formations Mauricio Pochettino has used this season shows how much he’s grown since his first few years in the Premier League, when the Argentine rarely veered far from his trusted 4-2-3-1. That gives the Tottenham boss a variety of systems to choose from this weekend, all of which have delivered on the most-part this season – chiefly 4-2-3-1, 3-4-3 and 5-3-2.
The latter system inspired the draw at the Bernabeu and the demolition job over Liverpool at Wembley, placing a new emphasis on counter-attacking rather than Pochettino’s traditional mantra of ball-retention, but will it work this weekend?
With Harry Kane in such fine form, it seems unlikely Jose Mourinho will allow space behind Man United’s defence – so perhaps Spurs will be better off trying to dictate the tempo of the game and slowly breaking the Red Devils’ sturdy backline down.
Who starts on the defensive flanks?
Whether they’re deployed as full-backs or wing-backs, the defensive flankers have been crucial to Pochettino’s success in English football.
On the most part, Pochettino’s hands have been tied in terms of selection this season due to injuries and suspensions, but Serge Aurier, Kieran Trippier, Ben Davies and Danny Rose are all available in theory for Saturday and Heung-min Son has featured as a left wing-back before as well. The ultimate question, then, is who should start.
While Trippier has occupied the right role most regularly this season, Aurier’s dynamism feels perfect for what looks set to be a tight game away from home, especially if he’s up against Marcus Rashford.
On the other side, it seems unlikely Rose will start after playing 81 minutes in midweek, so does the dependable Davies come in, or is it worth risking Son considering a run of form that has seen him claim one goal and two assists in his last two outings?
How can Tottenham exploit Man United’s injury problems?
While Tottenham have a couple of big names in the wars themselves, particularly Victor Wanyama, Manchester United’s injury list is a whopping eight men deep at this moment in time. A few of those are expected to return this weekend, such as Eric Bailly, while a few are long-term absentees, such as Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
But overall, Mourinho is light on numbers going into Saturday and Rashford and Herrera particularly, who face late fitness tests, represent potentially significant blows. So, how can Pochettino go about exploiting these injury problems?
The obvious area of weakness is the middle of the park; Nemanja Matic has made 17 appearances already this season and that will undoubtedly be catching up with the defensive midfielder, while Herrera’s absence may force youngster Scott McTominay into a Premier League start.
Surely Tottenham have the experience, talent and guile to overawe them in the engine room.
Is a scoreless draw an acceptable result?
Mourinho bore plenty of criticism for the attritional tactics he applied at Anfield but Tottenham have to be pragmatic about the situation.
Away from home, a point suits them far more than it does United, even if it means they won’t move above them in the league table. In the context of the title race it will put the pressure on the Red Devils to ensure they don’t slip up against the Premier League’s lesser sides and take at least a point at Wembley later in the campaign.
Bizarrely though, there’s every chance Mourinho will settle for a point by setting up his team to not concede rather than score goals – especially with Kane in such fantastic form.
Pochettino has always shown a devotion to exciting football during his time in the Premier League but if there’s one occasion where he accepts an underwhelming, scoreless performance for a decent result on the road in difficult circumstances, this could well be it.
