When Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur meet at Old Trafford on Saturday, both teams will be looking to push closer to their top-four goals.
As we near the finish of the 2021/22 season, the games are starting to flow thick and fast across Europe. The Premier League's Gameweek 29 kicks off on Saturday, with the action culminating at Old Trafford, where Manchester United will face Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester United's 2021/22 season has been full with promises, but it has also been full of flattering to deceive. That has been the case since interim manager Ralf Rangnick took onboard. While the Red Devils' creative output has improved, their profligacy in front of the goal has been their undoing on numerous occasions.As a result, Rangnick has only secured eight victories in 18 games, the most recent of which was a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City.
Tottenham Hotspur's fortunes, on the other hand, have improved slightly since Antonio Conte took over at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spurs have also been inconsistent, to to Conte's chagrin. The north Londoners, on the other hand, have shown a lot of promise, most notably in their 5-0 triumph over Everton earlier this week.
During the reverse fixture, Manchester United and Tottenham had different managers in control, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Nuno Espirito Santo. And the latter's tenure at Tottenham was brought to an end by a 3-0 Manchester United victory.
On the team news front, Ralf Rangnick has received a triple boost ahead of Tottenham Hotspur's arrival. Three first-team players will be unavailable for Manchester United interim boss Jose Mourinho on Saturday.
The good news is that Cristiano Ronaldo (hip) and Edinson Cavani (groin) should be back in action this week after returning to full training. In addition, after recovering from COVID-19, Raphael Varane is back at Rangnick's disposal.
Luke Shaw, on the other hand, is still on the sidelines as he recovers from the coronavirus. Scott McTominay (calf) will also miss out, while Mason Greenwood has been suspended indefinitely by Manchester United.
Alex Telles will continue to play left-back for Manchester United in Shaw's absence. However, following Aaron Wan-poor Bissaka's performance in last weekend's Manchester Derby, Diogo Dalot should return on the opposite flank. Harry Maguire was again ineffective, but he should keep his place in the team.
Maguire will play alongside Varane at the heart of Manchester United's defense, with David de Gea remaining in goal. Fred and Paul Pogba might form a double pivot in midfield, with the Frenchman returning to a deeper role after Rangnick used him in an advanced manner last weekend.
Bruno Fernandes, who played no. 10 for Manchester United last season, will be the team's creator-in-chief. With Ronaldo returning to the starting eleven for Manchester United's match against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga should flank the Portuguese maestro. The hosts' backup offensive options will include Cavani and Marcus Rashford.
De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Telles; Pogba, Fred; Elanga, Fernandes, Sancho; Ronaldo (4-2-3-1)
Tottenham Hotspur is a football club based in England.
Antonio Conte, unlike his Manchester United counterpart, is dealing with a new injury worry that is impeding his preparations for the trip to Old Trafford. On Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino will be without three first-team players.
Sergio Reguilon will return to the starting eleven as the left wing-back in Sessegnon's absence. The Spaniard will be partnered by the resurgent Matt Doherty, who has been playing some of his greatest football since joining Tottenham over two years ago.
In the second line of defense, the two wing-backs will flank Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur. In the centre of the park, the two central midfielders will be a tenacious presence. Hojbjerg will also be responsible for giving a forward impetus to the team while aiming to open up play with long passes.
With Harry Kane leading the line for Tottenham against Manchester United, the in-form attacking trio will be unaffected. The Spurs talisman will be flanked by Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski.
At the other end, Hugo Lloris will continue his goalkeeping duties, seeking to be at his best against Cristiano Ronaldo. The middle defense unit will be made up of Cristian Romero, Eric Dier, and Ben Davies, who will try to stay compact while playing out of the Manchester United press during transitions.
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