Man U vs Spurs
Venue: Old Trafford
Kick off: 12:45pm
Old Trafford plays host as Manchester United look to set the tone for a Premier League-winning season by beating Tottenham Hotspur in their opener on Saturday (today).
Victory is anything but a foregone conclusion, however, as Mauricio Pochettino’s side will hope to get their top-four bid underway by dealing the hosts a second successive opening-day defeat.
Twelve months ago, Manchester United – who embarked on one of the most lavish summer spending sprees in history – found themselves the butt of the joke after losing their opening-day fixture to Swansea at Old Trafford.
Such a disappointing start had a domino effect and Louis van Gaal’s side went on to win just five points from a possible 15 in the early stages of the Dutchman’s tenure.
They need only remind themselves of that turmoil and the fact that they finished 17 points behind champions Chelsea to know that a fast-and-furious start is key to a serious title challenge this time around. Their rivals will certainly not wait for them should they again fail to race out of the traps.
Van Gaal’s side recovered throughout the season to salvage a top-four finish in the end, but having spent a further £82m this summer on the likes of Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin, a title bid is a must.
Unlike the visit of Swansea, though, there is far less room for complacency against a Spurs side that will hope to be challenging for a Champions League place come May.
Goals from Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney saw the hosts romp to a 3-0 victory in this fixture last season – a win that also came midway through a six-match winning streak – and three points in a similar manner would not go amiss this weekend.
Despite drawing one of the short straws in terms of opening-day fixtures, Spurs bring an element of unpredictability with them to Old Trafford today.
Having only signed three players – Kevin Wimmer, Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld – in a quieter transfer window than they have been known for in recent years, it is difficult to gauge Tottenham’s realistic targets for the 2015-16 season and their chances of upsetting United today.
Manchester United possible starting lineup: Romero; Darmian, Jones, Smalling, Shaw; Carrick, Schneiderlin; Young, Memphis, Mata; Rooney.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Rose; Bentaleb, Dembele, Chadli, Eriksen, Lamela, Kane.
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