Michael Carrick will be looking to maintain his 100% record in his second spell in charge of Manchester United in the Saturday 12:30 GMT kick-off at the expense of his former club Tottenham Hotspur, who are winless in their last six league games.
In Roy Keane's retelling of a Sir Alex Ferguson team talk ahead of a game against Spurs, the Scot reportedly told his players: "Lads, it's Tottenham," and left it at that, such was his confidence. Recently though, things have been less straightforward for the Old Trafford outfit, who will mark the 68th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster before kick-off.
The Red Devils are winless in their past six league games against Spurs (drawn three, lost three), their joint-longest run without a league win against the north London side – and one that extends to eight games in all competitions.
Classy Casemiro back to his best
With no arrivals in the winter transfer window, Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro seem almost certain to continue as United's first-choice pairing at the base of midfield, as they have done in Carrick's three consecutive wins.
The Brazilian, who last month confirmed he will leave at the end of the season, has been in fine form recently, opening the scoring with a header in last week's dramatic 3-2 success against Fulham – since his debut in August 2022, no midfielder has scored more headers in the Premier League than Casemiro’s seven.
The home side conceded twice when he was replaced by Manuel Ugarte in the second half of that game; astonishingly, they've let in more league goals this season with Ugarte on the pitch than with Casemiro, despite the Uruguayan playing less than half the number of minutes.
A Frank assessment
Tottenham's second-half rally to earn a 2-2 draw against Manchester City last week provided a welcome fillip for head coach Thomas Frank, whose side haven’t won in the league this calendar year.
"I think we can create something magic together – the players and the fans – when we are united like we were," Frank purred after that comeback. Spurs' Champions League form has arguably kept him in a job, although the Dane would quite rightly point to the club's ongoing injury crisis as a mitigating factor.
Dominic at the double
One man who is back off the treatment table is Dominic Solanke, who netted both goals to earn a point against City – even if his dubious first effort provoked the ire of Pep Guardiola, who insisted it was a foul.
Solanke has four goals in six games in all competitions since returning from an ankle injury that caused him to miss four months of the season, averaging a goal every 88 minutes. That's the best rate of any Spurs player this season, and notably he has notched five in his last five appearances against Manchester United.
The statistics suggest that the first half of this encounter will be telling for Tottenham, who sit 14th in the table with just one league win in nine. They are winless in all 10 of their league games when behind at the break this term – drawing three and losing seven – and unbeaten in all six when leading at half-time (won five, drawn one).
Worryingly for Frank, only the bottom two sides have conceded more first-half goals than Tottenham's 18 in the league this season.
