Two of the Premier League’s biggest spenders have produced two of its most disappointing starts, and Saturday evening at Old Trafford offers Manchester United and Tottenham a combined seven points from 10 games between them. Both managers understand exactly what a defeat would do to the volume of noise surrounding them.
United’s decline has been the more unexpected of the two. Michael Carrick arrived in January and pulled the club to a third placed finish last season, yet five points from five matches represents the joint lowest tally United have managed at this stage of a top flight campaign.
It started with a 2-0 loss at Hull on the opening day, followed by a 5-2 thrashing of Ipswich, a 2-2 draw at Everton, a 1-0 home defeat to a Manchester City side that played a long spell with 10 men, and a 1-1 draw at Fulham in which a deflected Matheus Cunha equaliser in the 89th minute salvaged a point before the break.
Add the 3-2 EFL Cup loss at home to Brighton, a game United led by two goals in the first half, and the run extends to four domestic matches without a win.
Defence is the principal concern. The only clean sheet in seven matches across all competitions came in a 4-0 Champions League win over Sabah, and United have conceded at least twice in four of those games. Carrick insists the speculation does not trouble him, but he will know his margin for error is narrowing.
Tottenham stuck at the bottom
If United are toiling, Tottenham are in genuine crisis territory. Spurs survived relegation on the final day of last season, finishing 17th for the second year in a row, then spent more than £300m rebuilding the squad.
Mateus Fernandes came in from West Ham for a club record £85m, a fee Sandro Tonali then surpassed when he joined from Newcastle in a deal that could reach £100m.
The return so far amounts to two points from five games, leaving Spurs at the foot of the table. It is the first time since 2008-09 that they have been rock bottom after five matches. A 3-0 defeat at Brentford on the opening day was followed by 0-0 draws with Everton and Nottingham Forest, a 2-0 loss to Newcastle and a 3-2 home defeat by Aston Villa before the break.
Losing on Saturday would make this only the fourth occasion in the club’s history that Tottenham have failed to win any of their first six league games.
There is a crumb of comfort for the visitors. Roberto De Zerbi won on his last visit to Old Trafford with Brighton in 2023, and Spurs have won four of the last six meetings between these sides.
Team news
Carrick gave a mixed update on United’s fitness issues. Carlos Baleba, signed from Brighton in the summer, is edging closer to a first appearance for the club and trained across the international break.
Amad Diallo is in the same position and could feature in the matchday squad against Spurs. The hosts will be without Benjamin Sesko, Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu, who are all dealing with injuries. Marcus Rashford is touch and go, while a knock may keep Kobbie Mainoo out.
In the Tottenham camp, there is good news about Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul Van Hecke, both available despite picking up knocks while on international duty for the Netherlands. Dejan Kulusevski is travelling with the squad but will not make the bench on this occasion and could return against Coventry next week. James Maddison is available, but Pedro Porro remains out after tweaking his hamstring against Aston Villa.
Expected line ups
Manchester United: Lammens, Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw, Tielemans, Santos, Mbeumo, Fernandes, Diallo, Cunha
Tottenham: Kinsky, Gray, Van Hecke, Van de Ven, Udogie, Tonali, Bentancur, Savio, Gallagher, Marmoush, Solanke
Where to watch
Kick off at Old Trafford is at 5:30pm BST on Saturday, October 10. Global broadcast details can be found at premierleague.com.
With so much at stake for both clubs, the desperation could produce a scrappy contest. United’s defence has been their weak point, but their creative players, led by Bruno Fernandes, may just be enough to sway it in their favour.
