Can Manchester United transfer Europa League performance to the Premier League?
Following a long trip to Ukraine on Thursday to play Zorya Luhansk in the Europa League, it is back to Premier League action for Manchester United and a tough looking match at home to Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester United put in a good performance in Odessa on a pitch which was in very poor condition. Jose Mourinho selected a strong starting XI including the likes of Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, all three of which played well, in a match United dominated from start to finish. Eric Bailly made his return to the first team following a knee injury and immediately looked back to his best, making some well-timed challenges and breaking up the play whenever Zorya moved forward. His return, all be it brief with the Africa Cup of Nations fast approaching, is a boost for Mourinho.
The question is, can Manchester United use the momentum from this win, to move up the Premier League table? Tottenham have joined Manchester United in the Europa League having been dumped out of the Champions League, despite defeating CSKA Moscow on match day six. Although Tottenham found the Champions League tough, their domestic form has been good and they have lost only one match in the Premier League this season, away to leaders Chelsea. In fact, trends show Tottenham have been difficult to beat for some time under Mauricio Pochettino and they are undefeated in 45 of their last 51 Premier League games.
Manchester United will point to their recent home record in all competitions, which has seen them go 10 games unbeaten. However, closer inspection shows it is 4 games without a win at Old Trafford in the Premier League. There have been three 1-1 draws and one 0-0 draw and Mourinho knows they must start winning at home, to have any chance of making up ground on the teams above them, one of which is Tottenham.
Away from home is where Tottenham have struggled recently, picking up only 3 points from the last possible 12 available. The defeat at Chelsea came off the back of three draws at Arsenal, Bournemouth and West Brom. If they are to remain in the title race, Tottenham must get something from this match because defeat could see them slip 10 points behind Chelsea and 7 points behind Arsenal.
As for Manchester United, a defeat would leave them 9 points adrift of Tottenham and with too much work to do in terms of the title race. Will the fear of this possibility prevent the Red Devils from really having a go at Tottenham in this game? Tottenham have only scored 3 goals in their last four away Premier League games and Manchester United have the same record at home. This suggests we could be in for a low scoring draw, which in truth, would suit neither team.
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