Tottenham vs Manchester United preview

March 3, 2012
By: Frank Beresford

Tottenham will be looking to make amends for the embarrassing defeat to Arsenal when they take on Manchester United, a team that need all three points from White Hart Lane in order to keep their title bid alive.

Spurs entered the North London derby in confident mood, having had recorded a 5-0 victory over Newcastle in the previous round, and Harry Redknapp’s men were, therefore, seen as favourites in the clash.

Everything looked to be going according to plan when Louis Saha and Emmanuel Adebayor made it 2-0 inside the first half, but Arsenal produced a stunning comeback to win the tie 5-2.

The defeat at the Emirates didn’t have such a detrimental effect on team’s top 4 chances as Spurs are still big seven points in front of their rivals, but it certainly served as a big blow to the players’ confidence.

A positive result against Manchester United is a must if Tottenham want to avoid a nervy finish to the season, and you should know William Hill pays 1.53 (8/15) on Spurs not to lose.

Harry Redknapp is hoping Gareth Bale will be fit to play despite carrying a hamstring injury, whereas Ledley King, Kyle Walker and Rafael van der Vaart could be in contention as well. However, Scott Parker is suspended.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-1-1): Freidel – Walker, Dawson, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto – Lennon, Modric, Sandro, Bale – Van der Vaart – Adebayor.

Manchester United enter this match on a high following the hard-fought victory over Norwich, but that wouldn’t be the case if Ryan Giggs, making his 900th appearance for the club, hadn’t scored a last-gasp winner at Carrow Road.

It was only fair that veterans Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs score to give United a valuable win in a match in which they were outplayed by their less illustrious opponents.

The Red Devils thus somewhat made amends for the home defeat to Ajax and stayed two points behind Manchester City, meaning they have every reason to feel optimistic before the clash at White Hart Lane.

With Wayne Rooney returning from a throat infection, United look a good bet at odds of 2.60 (8/5) offered by BetVictor.

Chris Smalling is likely to miss out after suffering a head injury on international duty, whereas Antonio Valencia and Tom Cleverley remain sidelined.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-1-1): De Gea – Jones, Evans, Ferdinand, Evra – Nani, Scholes, Carrick, Young – Rooney – Welbeck.

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