Tottenham vs Manchester United betting primer
Can Coach Redknapp get Tottenham to rebound vs Manchester United after they were thrashed vs Arsenal one week ago?
by James Kempton (follow him on twitter @ukbettingpro)
Tottenham hosts Manchester United tomorrow on the heels of United’s 2-1 win at Norwich, a contest rescued in the last minute by veteran Ryan Giggs’ winner. The game is priced up with United appearing as strong favourites and at first glance, I am not sure you can back them with any real conviction. In theory, there should be a response from the Tottenham players and I sense Sir Alex would view a point for his Manchester side at White Hart Line as an excellent result for the Red Devils. Tottenham has not beaten United in any of their last twenty eight meetings across all competitions with the last ten EPL games at White Hart yielding 7 wins for Manchester along with 3 draws. Although Redknapp has not been behind the Tottenham bench for all of the meetings, those statistics should make any prospective Tottenham backers very wary of the Spurs in this game.
United has a 9-3-1 record on the road with their only defeat at Newcastle at the beginning of January. Tottenham boasts a 10-2-1 mark at home with their only defeat a humiliating 5-1 blemish at the hands of Manchester City back in late August. The public perception of United is that they are now a pragmatic side who is more cautious in their approach than in past years. Interestingly though, 11 of their last 12 English competitive games have resulted in at least three goals in the game. It seems Sir Alex is not as confident in his defence and is now looking to outscore teams knowing his side is unlikely to keep a blank sheet. This situation has probably been highlighted more since the loss of influential defender Nemanja Vidic to injury and the continued fitness struggles of Rio Ferdinand. Normally a game between two of the top sides in the country would see a chess match with both teams waiting for the other to make a mistake but this season has seen a marked opposite unfold. Tottenham and United have competed in nineteen games against the top seven (including United’s 3-0 win over Tottenham in August) with over posting a 15-4 mark in these contests assuming an average closing total of 2.5!
With that last stat firmly in mind and a thought on how the game will be played, I feel there will be plenty of offense in this contest. Redknapp will instruct his players to go out and express themselves freely on the pitch to help shake last Sunday’s collapse as quickly as possible. The Spurs boss needs a positive performance from his side to aid his chances of being offered the post as English national team manager as well. There has been much talk this week in the media of his tactical naivety and Harry will demand a response to silence the critics. The atmosphere at White Hart Lane is always intense since it’s a tight old fashioned English football ground and given last weeks mauling, the home fans will further implore their team to attack a United backline which lacks pace. If Tottenham were still in the title race you could argue this would be a tight cagey affair with the two sides feeling each other out early rather than going on the offensive. However, the home side has nothing to lose and their best form of defence is attacking so I see them flying out of the blocks to attack United. With Wayne Rooney sure to return for the Red Devils, there will be no shortage of explosive attacking potential for Manchester. This game has all the ingredients to follow in the same vein as last weekend’s Tottenham vs Arsenal game and provide yet another ‘Super Sunday’ of entertainment.
