It was a familiar scoreline for Manchester United at the Goodison Park on Sunday. Marouane Fellaini proved what a liability he has been of late, when his foul gifted Everton with a late penalty that robbed United of a certain 1-0 win. December 11th’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford will be a much tougher one for the Red Devils what with the Spurs coming out of a 5-0 thrashing of Swansea City last weekend. Once again it will up to Ibrahimovic to deliver the goods for United at the O)ld Trafford on Sunday. The 35-year old Swede’s striker’s four goals from the last equal number of Premier League outings has been the saving grace in one of the most dismal runs for the club in recent memory (just one win and as many as seven draws in the Last 8 EPL fixtures). Pogba, Mkhitaryan and Martial seemed back in to their shells and it is hard to see them revive themselves soon. De Gea, Valencia, Jones and Darmian at the back came under immense pressure from an Everton attack in the latter stages of the game at Goodison Park. Same could be the case at Old Trafford against the Spurs who have much more potent men upfront willing to score.
Tottenham, who have through a spell of low scores of late (7 goals from 6 outings before the Swansea game), found their mojo back at the Liberty Stadium stadium. Usual suspects Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen were among the goals and have sent across warning signals to Jose Mourinho’s men ahead of December 11th’s clash.
For United fans, the club’s sixth position is no consolation as they are a clean six points away from their Sunday’s rivals and even a win wouldn’t suffice. For Mauricio Pochettino’s men, a win would mean getting closer to the Top Four zone. Spurs are 27 points on the table currently and are three behind fourth placed Manchester City’s 30. Spurs have conceded the least number of goals (10) among all Premier League teams this season and have as many as six clean sheets to their credit. So, for Ibrahimovic & co. finding the back of the Tottenham net even once could be an achievements of sorts. Since 2014, both teams have won on two of the five occasions they have clashed. For Tottrenham, the last two visits to Old Trafford had ended in defeats. This probably has weighed on the bookmakers who are wagering on a United win in Sunday’s clash. But it could be different this time around.
Recommended Tip: Both Teams to Score, YES
Best Odds, 1.75