3 key battles that could decide Man Utd vs Tottenham

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will top the billing in the Premier League this weekend, with the two top four-chasing sides facing off at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Both teams will head into the game in rather topsy-turvy form – as their current mid-table positions in the Premier League standings attest.

With both sides in need of a win, here’s the three key battles you should keep an eye out for which could decide the game at Old Trafford.

Manuel Ugarte vs James Maddison

Although Man Utd fans were disappointed with the 1-1 draw with FC Twente in midweek, they were impressed with the performance of their new midfield destroyer, Manuel Ugarte.

After said impressive outing, Ugarte is now widely expected to make his first Premier League for the club this weekend against Tottenham, where he’ll be tasked with stopping one of the best attacking midfielders in the division.

James Maddison is a game-changer on his day, and he’ll be hoping he can slither away from the Uruguayan and create chancers for his attacking teammates on Sunday.

Dominic Solanke vs Matthijs de Ligt

Everything seemed to finally click for Dominic Solanke at Tottenham this past week.

That’s not to say he’d played badly prior to Thursday night, far from it, but in the win over Qarabag, Solanke looked like the striker we watched bag 19 Premier League goals in 2023/24.

His improved form comes at a pretty perfect time for Tottenham, as they’ll need Solanke at his very best if they’re going to beat Man Utd at Old Trafford – a place they’ve notoriously struggled down the years.

The number nine will come up against a similarly resurgent Matthijs de Ligt on Sunday. The defender looks to be re-finding his best form under Erik ten Hag in recent weeks, and pocketing Solanke this weekend would go a long way to repairing his reputation after a tricky spell at Bayern Munich.

Joshua Zirkzee vs Cristian Romero

Having not scored since the first day of the 2024/25 season, it’s fair to say that Joshua Zirkzee is in dire need of a goal. The pressure has been mounting on Zirkzee so much in recent weeks that Erik ten Hag has even had to come out in defence of the forward’s performances.

And while scoring a goal this weekend will ultimately alleviate pressure, the Dutch international’s ability to drop deep and link-up play may be the key to the game.

Up against a defender keen to chase forwards around the park and attempt to nip in and win possession in Cristian Romero, Zirkzee’s clever movement may be enough to pull Tottenham’s defence out of shape and allow the like of Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford to have some joy in the final third.