Tottenham vs Manchester United 19/08/23 Tips:
Tottenham Hotspur will face Manchester United in the first of a Saturday Night Football double-header this weekend.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
Premier League, Saturday, August 19, Kick-off 5:30pm, live on Sky Sports Main Event
Predicted score
Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Manchester United
Premier League betting tips
Bet: Tottenham Hotspur to win
Bet: First half: Over 1.5 goals
Bet: Over 3.5 goals
Team news
Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Bryan Gil (groin), Rodrigo Bentancur (knee), Fraser Forster (back), Christian Romero (head) and Alfie Whiteman (ankle) are unavailable for the hosts.
Davison Sanchez is likely to partner summer signing Micky van de Ven in the heart of the defence, with Oliver Skipp, Yves Bissouma and James Maddison continuing in midfield.
Lisandro Martinez (ankle), Rasmus Hojlund (back), Tyrell Malacia (knee), Amad Diallo (knee), Kobbie Mainoo (ankle) and Thomas Heaton (calf) will miss out for the visitors.
Marcus Rashford could again lead the line with the England international flanked by Alejandro Garnacho and Antony, although a flat performance could mean a start for Jadon Sancho.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United betting preview
Tottenham Hotspur under Ange Postecoglou are going to be a wild watch. Their opening draw with Brentford was somewhat undeserved as they handed chance after chance to the hosts.
Spurs dominated 70% of possession and frequently got James Maddison into dangerous areas, leading to two assists, but they were frequently dispossessed and left gaps at the back.
Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Wolverhampton can also be classed as somewhat undeserved. The visitors were denied a late penalty to even proceedings and should have led long before that.
It was a slow and disjointed start from Erik ten Hag’s side and, surprisingly, the half-time break did nothing to fix that.
The expected goals against Spurs on opening day was 2.22, while the value against Man Utd was 2.35 and would have ballooned to 3+ had the penalty been awarded.
Tottenham were willing to take risks all over the pitch in possession and push bodies forward at every opportunity. That came at a price, but it’s part of the trade-off for attacking football.
Conversely, Wolves were happy to set traps and frustrate the hosts at Old Trafford, who will be afforded far more opportunity to break at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Five of the last six meetings between these sides have had three or more goals, including a 6-1 win for Spurs, a 3-2 win for United and a 2-2 draw here last season.
Naturally, you’d expect the focus to be on better organisation and defensive quality given their previous performance, but these teams in their current state should make for an end-to-end game.
We’re betting on their being at least four goals in a wide-open game and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see either team win, but we’re leaning towards the host given their enticing price.
