With the wound of defeat at the hands of City still raw, Manchester United will be up against a formidable Tottenham Hotspur. Both the teams will be coming to this contest keeping the shape of the points table in their minds as a win for Tottenham will allow them to equal Arsenal’s tally and would be a massive threat to United’s residence in the hunt for the European glory.
The Devils are stationed in the fifth position of the points table but the number of matches that they have played is staggeringly more than the ones who are breathing heavily on their neck. However, keeping the other thoughts aside, the current focus of Manchester United should be to win their games.
Despite intermittent bursts of brilliance, the team has failed to maintain a certain level of consistency and has been rocked time and time again. A major concern for Ralf Rangnick when Spurs arrive at Old Trafford will be his lollygagging defence. The rearguard has run exceedingly short on gas and Harry Maguire has managed to commit goal-conceding errors in almost every game.
The United captain has slowed down beyond measure, forgotten to read between the opposition attacking lines and doesn’t even know what on earth is he doing in the face of an invasion. Given his position as a center-back, he leaves such a colossal void in the defensive third that no matter how fine de Gea is, it doesn’t help Manchester’s cause.
Another issue for United that needs addressing under the reign of Rangnick is their exorbitant profligacy. From Ronaldo to Rashford, almost every Manchester United attacker can be alleged of squandering away golden opportunities that made the team lose out on a good deal of points.
As Spurs arrive at Old Trafford, the outfit will be hopeful for a fine display as two of their finest are slowly returning to form and on days when Son and Harry Kane click together, even the slickest of a well-oiled machine can come to a grinding halt. We will try and pick three players that one can be hopeful about in the colours of Manchester.
Jadon Sancho
Despite a thrashing defeat at the Etihad, the solitary strike of the night for the Devils came from the feet of this English winger. His blistering run caught a couple of City defenders napping as he dribbled his way past a lagging City Rearguard and unleashed a picture-perfect thunderbolt to restore world order momentarily. He has seemed to be a lot more confident under the reign of Ralf Rangnick while his initial jitters are shaking off. Even though he is still to attain maximum power, Jadon Sancho is slowly starting to repay the faith that has been vested in him.
Anthony Elanga
In a period where the bigger names have failed, Anthony Elanga has found himself scoring at will and that too against quite established oppositions. The young man has speed and is a fox in the box with some decent shooting and heading abilities. He has an eye for the netters and even an iota of space for the youngster can be turned into a living disaster for the opposition.
David de Gea
Had it not been for David de Gea, Manchester United could have very well swallowed more than five goals in the last game against their City rivals. Amidst all the storm at Old Trafford, if one man has almost single-handedly carried the team on his shoulders, it has been none other than David de Gea. He will be entering another war where he will again have to play a major role to help Manchester United survive the potential onslaught that Kane and Son may bring together.
