Prediction & odds for the game: Tottenham (9/5) v Manchester United (7/5)

When: Friday, 19th June @ 8.15pm K.O

Where: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

The Premier League returns this week with one of the biggest games seeing Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester United in North London.

Tottenham

While it goes without saying that Jose Mourinho will be eager to try and get one over on his former club, this game is about so much more than that. Just over one year ago, Spurs were coming off the back of an appearance in the UEFA Champions League final. Ever since then there’s been a great deal of turmoil within the foundations of the club, and now, many are questioning whether or not they’ll even come close to qualifying for the UCL. If they don’t, big questions will be asked of them.

Prior to the lockdown it was a really bad time to be a Spurs fan, as they just couldn’t pick up a positive result to save their lives. They went on a losing streak that included losses to Leipzig, Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers before registering disappointing 1-1 draws against Norwich and Burnley. In their final game before the suspension of football, they were battered 3-0 by Leipzig and crashed out of the Champions League.

Manchester United

Both in the world of transfer rumours and in the game itself, there seems to be quite a bit of momentum behind Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer right now. They’re well-positioned to make a run at the top four, and even if they don’t finish fourth, there’s a chance they could sneak through the back door and qualify through fifth or maybe even through winning the Europa League. Either way, they’ll be coming into this game with more confidence than some critics may think.

In a direct contrast to Tottenham, United were flying high back in late February and early March. They battered Watford 3-0 before dismantling Club Brugge 5-0 in the Europa League, and after a 1-1 draw against Everton, they beat Derby in the FA Cup and stunned rivals Manchester City in a 2-0 Premier League triumph. Then, just days before the lockdown, they hit five past LASK in the UEL.

Conclusion

We believe this is going to be a pretty tense affair between two sides who will be desperate to get off to a winning start. We’re expecting Spurs to try and frustrate United with their possession game, before slowly moving forward in an attempt to bully them into submission. We aren’t anticipating that’ll go too well, but in equal measure, we aren’t that confident in United being able to control the game. We’re going to back a draw in this one, which will almost certainly be an anti-climactic result.

With our draw prediction, we’re also saying that we believe it’ll end either 0-0 or 1-1 – meaning, obviously, that we’re backing the under 2.5 goals market.

Verdict: Back the draw at odds of 12/5 and the under 2.5 goals scored at odds of 10/11. (All odds are taken from bet365).

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