Manchester United head into a difficult test against high-flying Tottenham Hotspur in the final match of the weekend. While Spurs will surely be gutted after exiting the UCL, Pochettino will be wary of letting his player’s morale be hampered due to the exit. They have had a very good last week. A 5-0 win against Swansea City was followed by a 3-1 win over CSKA Moscow in the final UCL group stage game.
On the other hand, Manchester United have made sure of their qualification to the Round of 32 after beating Zorya Luhansk 2-0 on an icy night. United and Mourinho will especially pleased with the burgeoning form of Henrikh Mkhitaryan. His displays have the given the uplifting feeling of almost having a brand new signing of a winter window. He had been uncharacteristically off-colour and looked nothing like the player we had come used to seeing at Dortmund. But it seems he has turned a corner after a couple of months at the club and it spells major good news for the Red Devils.
With the clash traditionally being extremely entertaining, we will be prepared for a similar experience. Two in-form teams, two world-class managers and two sets of highly talented and technical players. We are in for a cracker.
PREDICTED MANCHESTER UNITED XI VS TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (4-2-3-1)
DEFENCE
David De Gea will be in goal after being rested in midweek and he will be ready for a testing afternoon with the likes of Kane, Alli and Eriksen in the opponent rank. Valencia will be at right back after Young had deputised against Zorya. Jones is likely to come back on the right side of the central defence while Rojo is expected to partner him. Bailey just came from injury and two games in succession might be stretching it a little. Darmian is likely to be at left-back after having turned up in that role in recent weeks.
MIDFIELD
With Tottenham possessing pace and strength in the middle, United might go for extra cover and play both Carrick and Herrera in the double pivot. The duo have been impressive till now and will look to stifle the likes of Dembele and Alli. Paul Pogba is likely to push up into a No.10 role and will be given the freedom to express himself.
ATTACK
Martial is likely to be on the left-flank while Mkhitaryan’s form is likely to be utilised on the right-wing. Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be leading the line.
