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Manchester United vs Tottenham betting tips, BuildABet, best bets and preview
Football betting tips: Premier League
1pt e.w. Matthijs de Ligt to score first at 33/1 (bet365 1/3 1-99)
BuildABet @ 15/1
- Matthijs de Ligt 1+ shots on target
- Dominic Solanke 2+ shots on target
- 5+ corners each team
Three wins from eight represents an underwhelming start to Manchester United's season. Two of those being a 7-0 thrashing of Sky Bet League One outfit Barnsley in the Carabao Cup and a 3-0 success away at newly-promoted Southampton shows they've not come against top teams either.
A poor 1-1 draw with Twente kicked off their Europa League campaign on Wednesday night. So here we are, not even at the end of September and the questions surrounding Erik ten Hag's leadership remain prevalent.
Well it's Groundhog Day...again.
These sides played out an excellent 2-2 draw the last time they met and Ange Postecoglou's all-out attacking style should, in theory, led this into being another high-scorer given United's ability to break forward with pace.
Who wins it though? Who knows. English football's two-most unpredictable sides facing off does legitimately make it one where you could strongly for all three outcomes.
It's a game where I'm more than happy to steer clear of the outright market. Neither has shown enough to give full confidence in their chances.
What are the best bets?
The good news for the neutral is that the money is backing end-to-end action. The short prices available on the over 2.5 goals line indicates the sort of game we can expect - 4/9 the best odds available.
United's strikers are hardly firing though and Ten Hag has claimed that his side need to share the goals around more. It's particularly the case when the two on the books currently aren't exactly prolific scorers.
Set-pieces could be key here then, with the 33/1 on MATTHIJS DE LIGT TO SCORE FIRST worth an each-way play.
Tottenham's set-piece defending remains a problem under Postecoglou. I have a theory that high-pressing, attack-minded teams are rubbish in these scenarios but I have no stats to back this up. Can't really be bothered to research something so trivial up right this second too.
But last season saw them give up good quality chances to their opponents at set-pieces and corners. They sat sixth for goals conceded here but it should have been more.
And in De Ligt, United have a defender who has posted five shots across his two league starts so far - a goal came in the win at Southampton.
Matthijs de Ligt bags his first goal as a Man Utd player to open the scoring 🤩
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 14, 2024
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/pCntP7W4eg
He brings such an aerial presence that is lacking when Harry Maguire isn't involved. The defender is also clearly the target on attacking corners. There should be a mismatch in this area.
Ajax scored the most set-piece goals in the Eredivisie in 2021/22, the same in 20/21, which suggests they're an important part of the game for Ten Hag when he has the right personnel.
Of course, Ajax were a dominant force in the Netherlands but United have progressively got better as Ten Hag's time at the club has progressed. They were 20th for set-piece goals in the Premier League in 22/23, moving up to 15th last season, while they've already netted a couple in the opening exchanges of the new campaign.
This looks a good opportunity for De Ligt to get his second goal in United colours.
Team news
The hosts are still dealing with a few injuries to their defensive line, particularly at left-back, where both Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw remain sidelined.
Central defenders Victor Lindelof and Leny Yoro are also out, meaning De Ligt should partner Lisandro Martinez once again.
For Tottenham, Postecoglou is still without forwards Richarlison and Wilson Odobert.
A number of changes are expected following Thursday's Europa League victory over Qarabag, although Brennan Johnson, Son Heung-min and Dominic Solanke are likely to keep their spots in the forward line.
Predicted line-ups
Manchester United XI: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot; Mainoo, Eriksen; Diallo, Fernandes, Garnacho, Zirkzee.
Tottenham XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Maddison; Johnson, Kulusevski, Son; Solanke.
Match facts
- Manchester United have won 24 Premier League home games against Tottenham – only Arsenal have beaten an opponent more often at home in the competition’s history (25 vs Everton).
- After a run of four straight Premier League defeats against Manchester United between 2021 and 2022, Tottenham are now unbeaten in their last three against them in the league (W1 D2).
- Manchester United have lost seven of their last 19 Premier League home games (W9 D3), including a 3-0 loss to Liverpool in their last such match. They had been unbeaten in 20 at Old Trafford before this current run (W17 D3).
- Since picking up 14 points from their first six Premier League away games under Ange Postecoglou (W4 D2 L0), Tottenham have picked up just a further 14 points from their last 15 on the road (W3 D5 L7). Indeed, among ever present sides over the last two seasons, no side has won fewer Premier League away games since the start of November than Spurs (3).
- Since the start of last season, only Manchester City (31) have gained more points from losing positions in the Premier League than Tottenham (28), with Spurs coming from behind to beat Brentford 3-1 last time out.
- Manchester United have kept four clean sheets in their last six Premier League games, which is more than they had in their previous 24 combined (3). However, they’ve lost both games in which they’ve conceded during this run (W3 D1).
- Manchester United have the third highest xG in the Premier League this season (9.6) but have scored just five goals – only Southampton have a bigger negative difference between their goals (2) and expected goals (7.1) so far this term.
- As a team, only Liverpool players (282) have made more off the ball runs into the opposition’s box than Tottenham’s (263) in the Premier League this season. For individual players, Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min (54) and Dejan Kulusevski (43) rank joint first and joint third for this respectively.
- Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes has had more shots without scoring than any other Premier League player this season (17). Meanwhile, only Cameron Archer (2.3) and Evanilson (2) have amassed a higher xG without finding the net so far than Fernandes (1.9).
- Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min has created more chances from open play than any other player in the Premier League this season (13). He’s also had a hand in five goals in his last seven league appearances against Manchester United, scoring four and assisting one.
Odds correct at 1020 BST (27/09/24)
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