Premier League football is back, and with the opening round of fixtures already in the books, top-tier English football is taking shape. We move on to round two, which begins on Friday evening as Nottingham Forest look to make home advantage count against Sheffield United in an unpredictable contest. Five games are scheduled for play on Saturday, including one in London that has set pulses racing. Tottenham’s tough opening few weeks continues with a home game against Manchester United.
Will Ange Postecoglou grab the first win of his managerial reign in North London against the Red Devils before the eyes of the watching world, or will Man United reinforce their belief that they can challenge for the title this term? We can’t wait to find out, and armchair fans can follow all the play live on television from 17:30 GMT. It may be week two of the new season, but there will be no settling-in period for the Australian boss who enjoyed a clean sweep of success when managing Celtic in Scotland last term.
The jury remains out on Postecoglou, with most fans waiting to see how results go before judging their new boss. Not everyone in the stands has that same patience with a large section against his appointment in the first place. Ange knows the only way to silence his critics is to win games, collect points and push his team towards the prize places. A top-four finish would be a massive result for Postecoglou and Spurs.
Spurs stumble in derby
Tottenham was in action on Sunday as they travelled across the city to play London rivals Brentford. The Bees are a capable side on their patch, and there were rumours they may fancy scoring an early-season upset by beating Spurs. Critics believed Ange’s men were there for the taking, especially after the bombshell that took star striker Harry Kane to Germany, where he’ll play in Bayern Munich’s colours. What will life be like after Kane for Tottenham? We must wait and see.
Both Premier League games on Sunday ended in a draw, with Chelsea and Liverpool continuing the streak of cancelling each other out by sharing the spoils at a rocking Stamford Bridge. That share came after Brentford had held visitors Spurs to a four-goal draw in a game that swung back and forth. Romero scored the opener for Tottenham when finding the net inside 11 minutes, but his effort was cancelled by a Mbeumo penalty in 27 minutes. A shock goal from Wissa on 36 minutes gave the Bees a 2-1 lead, only for Spurs to fire back with an equaliser from Emerson Royal deep into first-half stoppage time.
Bet hereThere’s plenty for Ange to learn from, including helping his team tighten defensively. The new-look Londoners were attractive going forward, but Brentford fought back from losing an early goal, and it looked like they might take a narrow 2-1 lead into the break before the goal and late drama from Wissa. Celtic were all-action and dramatic last term, but it’s unlikely Spurs fans will settle for scraping past teams and conceding goals.
United return to action
Man United’s season began later than most, with the Red Devils playing on Monday night against Wolverhampton Wanderers. It’s a massive campaign for the team, and the players will be happy to be back on the turf so quickly after playing Monday night football. Their schedule will soon become crowded, but players want as many minutes in their legs as possible during the early games. Getting up to speed and gaining match fitness are the short-term goals of the United players.
A trip to London isn’t the easiest way to begin their away form this season, but Man Utd fans will expect their team to beat a Spurs side that looked fragile in defence last week. United aren’t reliable at the back themselves, but the United attack would’ve been rubbing their hands with glee at the possibility of sinking Spurs. The Londoners were often wide-open against Brentford, and although they were occasionally let off the hook, the star-studded Man Utd attack won’t be as generous.
Interestingly, the last time Man Utd played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the game ended in a 2-2 draw. A share of the spoils won’t go down well with fans of both clubs, but the managers will likely see the value in avoiding defeat for another weekend in what is a potentially dangerous Saturday evening fixture. Armchair fans will be encouraged by the stats showing 25 goals scored in the last six games involving Spurs and Man Utd. Should we prepare for another goal-fest?
Tottenham v Man Utd prediction
Here we have a game involving two teams with big ambitions for the season. Tottenham are rebuilding after appointing a new manager and losing striker Kane while United is determined to build on their progress last season. After this game, we’ll get a better idea of what to expect from Spurs and United.
Man Utd has a strong defence, and we expect the backline to improve on the previous campaign. That may be the difference between the sides, with both teams strong in attack but Spurs looking fragile in defence. Fans hope to see a few goals scored, and Man Utd are good enough to finish on top.
Premier League odds
The pre-game betting odds offered by 22bet has Tottenham trading at 3.045 with Man Utd 2.2 and the draw 3.7.
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