England great Wayne Rooney reveals what Tottenham vs Manchester United game will represent for both sides
Tottenham Hotspur are in a bit of pickle at the moment, winning just once in their last five games. They were abject in the 1-0 loss to London rivals Chelsea at home on Saturday– a result that saw the north Londoners drop out of the top four spots.
As a result, pressure is on Thomas Frank to get Spurs back on track after a series of underwhelming displays and results. There are issues in both midfield and attack that the Dane has to address quickly, with injuries to James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke not helping his cause. The piling injury list has also played its part in disruption of rhythm and momentum, while Xavi Simons has struggled to perform since his big-money summer move from RB Leipzig.
Tottenham welcome FC Copenhagen in the Champions League in midweek before taking on Manchester United in the Premier League at the weekend. These are the two fixtures Thomas Frank will be desperate to win to ease some pressure off his shoulders and head into the November international break on a high.
Wayne Rooney drops his verdict on Tottenham vs Manchester United
Manchester United, like Tottenham, have had an inconsistent season thus far. They started the campaign slowly, which put their head coach Ruben Amorim in great danger of losing his job. However, the Red Devils have seemingly turned a corner of late, picking up 10 points from their last four Premier League games.
Ruben Amorim’s side were on a three-game winning run following victories over Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton, before dropping points on Saturday afternoon at Nottingham Forest. As they are uninvolved in Europe, Man United’s next game is a trip to Tottenham.
Former England forward Wayne Rooney has now insisted that a win for either Spurs or Man United in this Saturday’s “massive” Premier League encounter could lift their spirits heading into the November hiatus.
“It’s a big game, I think, after United [have] obviously [had their] recent run,” Wayne Rooney said on BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show.
“They look to be back into a decent place, anyway. And so, I think it’s a big game after Tottenham losing to Chelsea.
“Whoever wins that, [it] could really kick them on. Whoever loses it, [it] could be a tough one to take that. So, I think it’s a massive game coming up then.”
Tottenham to have psychological edge over United?
Spurs and United were equally abysmal in the Premier League last season, finishing 17th and 15th respectively on the table. Tottenham struggled to get going throughout the season, but for some reason, they had the number on the Red Devils.
Last term, the Lilywhites faced United four times in all competitions and staggeringly came out victorious in all of those, including the Europa League final in Bilbao in May. They did the league double and knocked Amorim’s side from the Carabao Cup 4-3 at home. While the north London club have now got a new boss in place, beating the Mancunian giants four times in a campaign should certainly provide Frank’s side with a psychological advantage heading into the weekend’s contest.
That said, we cannot take this United team lightly as they have picked up some form of late and possesses some quality attackers in the form of Bryan Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Amad Diallo to cause all kinds of problems.