Man. Utd vs. Tottenham: Battle for second a mouthwatering proposition
By Gary Pearson
The best home and away teams in the Premier League get set to battle for sole possession of second place when Spurs travel to Old Trafford tomorrow.
Spurs, who have won their first four away Premier League matches by a 12-2 score line, look to continue their road dominance in Saturday’s early fixture. But leaving Old Trafford with all three points will test Spurs away mettle.
Manchester United, having won all four matches at Old Trafford without breaking a sweat, are the top flight’s superior home team. Beating West Ham, Leicester, Everton and Crystal Palace by a combined total of 14-0, Jose Mourinho’s men are enjoying a current state of reverie in the Theatre of Dreams. But as you can clearly see, United’s opposition aren’t your prototypical world beaters, two of whom are reeling in the relegation zone. The other two – Leicester and West Ham – are both in purgatory, teetering on the brink of banishment.
It is still early but United haven’t welcomed a team whose pedigree holds a candle to Tottenham’s, particularly as Mauricio Pochettino’s men are, dating back to last season, enjoying a run of six away wins on the bounce.
Spurs, with at least three goals in five of six recent away Premier League matches, are scoring at will away from Wembley. So resounding their recent away results, Tottenham are scoring over four goals per game since the winning streak began, outscoring their opponents 25-4 within enemy battlements.
Pochettino’s side will need to call upon all their impressive attacking prowess to penetrate a United side who haven’t conceded a goal in five consecutive home matches. United are unbeaten in 21 matches at Old Trafford, and Spurs historically struggle at the devils’ stadium, winning only two of their last 25 outings there.
This current group of Lilywhites are an entirely different kettle of fish, though. Spurs are prolific in front of goal and rarely concede on their travels. Speculation of Harry Kane’s fitness is causing a stir across England, but expect Tottenham’s target man to battle on. Hopefully he isn’t feeling any ill-effects come kickoff, as his importance to Spurs needs no explanation.
But it feels good to reel off his staggering numbers anyway, so here goes: Kane leads the league in scoring with eight goals, all of which were scored in his last six matches. Recently honoured with the English captaincy, albeit currently impermanent, Kane has bagged 15 away goals in the calendar year. That puts him third on the all-time list, behind only Robin van Persie (19 away goals in 2011) and Sergio Aguero (17 in 2016). Kane still has six away matches in 2017 to break van Persie’s record. The maths to break the record, if the marksman can stay fit, are fairly agreeable.
Romelu Lukaku sits on seven Premier League goals, one behind Kane. He is unarguably United’s most dangerous threat and Toby Alderweireld, Davinson Sanchez and Jan Vertonghen have their work cut out for them. But it’s just another day at the office for Tottenham’s recently formed terrific triumvirate, who all but silenced the Galacticos at the Bernabeu.
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The Manchester outfit are enduring a mini-slump, having not won in two matches. They lost away to Huddersfield and were blanked in a 0-0 stalemate at Anfield. Both of those games were away from Old Trafford, but the door is nonetheless slightly ajar, open just enough for Spurs to pry open.
Tottenham would undoubtedly be pleased with a share of the spoils from tomorrow’s lunchtime fixture, but Spurs’ sublime away run of form gives them credence to believe they have enough to beat United in consecutive matches for the first time.