Premier League: Manchester United v Tottenham match preview

A look ahead to this weekend's Premier League fixture at Old Trafford

Saad Noor
Friday 28 September 2012 14:09 BST
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Sir Alex Ferguson is expecting an emotional day at Anfield
Sir Alex Ferguson is expecting an emotional day at Anfield (Manchester United)

Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to ring the changes after fielding an inexperienced back line in Wednesday’s League Cup victory over Newcastle.

Manchester United are joint top-scorers in the Premier League after five rounds, having scored 12 goals, and sit second on the table but Ferguson's team have also conceded six times, with critics claiming goalkeeper rotation is disrupting defensive cohesion. But the problem has been throughout the defence, with Ferguson having yet to select the same back five players, including goalkeeper, in consecutive games since the start of the season.

Manchester United will take on eighth-placed Tottenham without injured defenders Nemanja Vidic, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, while Antonio Valencia, who has filled in at right-back this season, is unlikely to play after injuring his foot in United's 2-1 win over Liverpool last week.

Anders Lindegaard looms as a probable starter as Ferguson continues to rotate his goalkeepers. The United boss has made it clear he will continue to rotate his goalkeepers until one makes a clear case to be considered the undisputed number one at the club.

Tottenham should have fullback Kyle Walker (ankle) back, while Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas may also have striker Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring) available for selection.

KICK OFF: Saturday, 5.30pm

PAST THREE MEETINGS…

Tottenham 1 (Defoe) Manchester United 3 (Rooney, Young 2), Premier League, March 2012

Manchester United 3 (Welbeck, Rooney, Anderson) Tottenham 0, Premier League, August 2011

Tottenham 0 Manchester United 0, Premier League, January 2011

STATS...

Manchester United have won 17 and lost none of their last 22 Premier League games against Tottenham

Robin van Persie has scored five goals and has four assists in his last six Premier League home games against Tottenham

Jermain Defoe has scored 199 goals in his senior career and has fired in more shots on target than any other player in the Premier League this season (9)

ODDS...

Man United to win: 1.53

Spurs to win: 6.00

Draw: 4.00

TV: Live on ESPN at 5.30pm, highlights on BBC1 at 10.10pm

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