“You just don’t know what team’s going to turn up” - Mark Lawrenson makes interesting prediction on who will win Manchester United vs Tottenham
Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson has backed Tottenham Hotspur to beat Manchester United 2-1 in their upcoming Premier League clash on Sunday (14 January).
The Red Devils are coming into this game on the back of a 2-0 away win against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup third round earlier this week. However, their form in the Premier League has raised question marks over Erik ten Hag's future.
Addressing the the upcoming game between Manchester United and Tottenham at Old Trafford, Lawrenson shared in his Paddy Power column:
"Manchester United strolled past Wigan as they should do. You can sit here and talk about Manchester United all day but you just don’t know what team’s going to turn up. I’m going to go for Spurs to win this. They won’t change the way they play and they’ll be a bit open which will obviously help United but they create lots and lots of chances."
The Red Devils sit in eighth with 31 points from 20 matches and also finished last in their UEFA Champions League group. Tottenham, meanwhile, started the season well but injuries to key players such as James Maddison and Micky van de Ven seemingly impacted their performances in recent months.
They are nevertheless three places and eight points above Manchester United in the table. Spurs trail fourth-placed Arsenal by just a solitary point and have won four of their last five Premier League matches.
A brief look at Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur's Head-to-Head record
Tottenham Hotspur have not enjoyed a good head-to-head record against Manchester United in recent years. They have won just twice in their last 10 meetings across competitions.
However, one of those two wins came earlier this season, when they secured a 2-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in August. An early second-half strike from Pape Matar Sarr and a late own goal from Lisandro Martinez sealed the scoreline that day.
The Red Devils won this fixture last season by a 2-0 scoreline at home but drew 2-2 in north London. One of Spurs' most dominant showings in this fixture came in October 2020, when Jose Mourinho's men swatted aside Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United by a 6-1 scoreline in Manchester.
The Lilywhites have since won just once against Manchester United. Their meetings, however, tend to involve goal-mouth action, with both teams not playing out a goalless draw against each other since December 2014.