Once upon a time, this Premier League fixture was a foregone conclusion, but Tottenham are a much-changed animal these days.
In fact, the Lilywhites have claimed more wins than Manchester United during the last ten Premier League meetings between the two sides and it’s the former who have finished higher in the table during the last few seasons.
In the context of the current campaign, both teams find themselves level on points ahead of Saturday’s 12.30pm kickoff, so the clash at Old Trafford is an important one for Jose Mourinho – a chance to not only push Tottenham back into the pack but also potentially gain ground on pace setters Manchester City.
In order to do that, however, the United boss will have to find the right answers to these four key questions…
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Where does the defensive line sit?
Perhaps the biggest conundrum Jose Mourinho faces this weekend – where to place his defensive line. We often think of Tottenham as a possession-based team but the Lilywhites have been relentless on the counter-attack this season, something their perfect record on the road – four wins from four – pays direct testament to.
The good news for United is that Harry Kane appears to be injured for tomorrow’s game, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Tottenham won’t be effective on the break with Heung-min Son and Fernando Llorente to fall back on, especially considering how well they’ve drawn teams onto them this season using a back five.
Sit too deep and United will struggle to create the chances they need to put in a positive performance at home; push too far forward and they could quickly be stung by the Lilywhites.
Is a back four the way to go?
Mourinho has rarely ventured far from back four systems throughout his managerial career but the Premier League is different animal these days, Chelsea and Tottenham both showing three at the back can work for top teams since the start of last season.
And on the most part, it appears to create a mismatch against more traditional 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 systems, as we saw last weekend when Tottenham ripped apart Liverpool. Mourinho experimented with a back three in midweek during the 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Swansea and considering Spurs appear most likely to set up with 3-4-3 or 5-3-2, it could we worth another runout on Saturday.
Mourinho certainly has the players for it with the likes of Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young out wide, but it still feels like a gamble for a squad essentially built around the principles of 4-2-3-1.
Is a draw an acceptable result?
Mourinho is the Premier League’s chief pragmatist and while the attritional performance at Anfield drew criticism, the Manchester United boss will feel it was a valuable point against a bitter rival away from home.
The question, however, is whether it’s as acceptable to eke out a draw on your own patch, even if Tottenham are enjoying a rich vein of form on the road. Manchester City have already beaten Liverpool and Chelsea this season, so Mourinho can’t simply hold out for draws against the big six and hope the noisy neighbours slip up against the Premier League’s lesser sides – especially considering United are already five points behind them.
The answer to this question directly impacts almost everything about Saturday’s match; the game-plan, the tactics, the squad selection, the substitutions; but it could also have an instrumental effect on the final standings come the end of May.
Should Henrikh Mkhitaryan start?
On paper, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is one of Manchester United’s most talented and important players as the creative hub linking the midfield to the attack.
But the Armenian’s Old Trafford career has been plagued by inconsistency and despite starting the season incredibly strongly, his form has waned in recent weeks – finding just one goal and no assists in the top flight since August.
The attacking midfielder came on at half-time against Huddersfield last weekend and didn’t have much of an impact. So, does he deserve another chance in a big game this Saturday, or would Mourinho be better off turning to someone like Jesse Lingard?