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WHO: Manchester United vs. Tottenham Hotspur
What: English Premier League, week 6
Or: Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom
When: Saturday October 9, at 5:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the preparation from 1:30 p.m. GMT.
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Manchester United and Tottenham are accustomed to battling it out at the top of the Premier League, albeit for the UEFA Champions League table, unlike the domestic crown in recent years for the former in particular.
Recent seasons have seen both fall to dramatically low levels by their standards and a worried Old Trafford welcomes a Spurs side, whose immediate concerns are far greater than those of the hosts.
Roberto De Zerbi’s struggling North Londoners are bottom of the table with just two points to their name after five games. United have only had one in this period and a Spurs win will see the teams level on points.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at a match which, although it is early in the season, could well shape the months to come for both teams and the immediate future of their managers in a match dubbed: “El Sackiko”.
Carrick casts an eye over Manchester to observe City’s woes
United head coach Michael Carrick has many problems of his own but has called for a speedy resolution to the Manchester City financial charges case, saying the drawn-out process had raised many questions and affected him personally.
Last month, an independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over nine seasons, between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 campaigns, as well as three of four charges relating to their failure to cooperate with the investigation.
City, who currently top the Premier League table and are the only team with a perfect record after five matches, have denied any wrongdoing and are appealing.
Carrick spent 12 years at United from 2006 to 2018, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League among numerous honours, before taking charge in January following the departure of Ruben Amorim.
During his playing career, the 45-year-old former midfielder lost in two title races won by City, including the 2011-12 campaign when United failed to reach goal difference after Sergio Agüero’s spectacular title-winning goal on the final day.
“It’s raised a lot of questions. Like it’s still ongoing, and we don’t know how long it’s going to last,” Carrick said at a news conference when asked about the accusations against the city.
“It has affected me personally in different ways over time.”
Would the medals make up for the titles lost to Man United?
Asked if he wanted the titles United missed, Carrick said he would reserve judgment until the process was complete.
“I think no matter what, a medal anyway, in any sport in history, I think later you get the medal and that has been proven at different times,” added the Englishman.
“It’s the moment that you aspire to win and be successful at that moment, so the medal here or there, not to be blasé, but it doesn’t give the feeling of knowing when you win or don’t win. That’s basically what we’re all here for.”
De Zerbi calls on struggling Spurs to respond in Man Utd clash
Roberto De Zerbi has urged bottom-of-the-table Tottenham to “respond” to the pressure of their crucial clash with compatriots United.
Spurs were waiting for the chance to wash away the bitter taste of a 3-2 home defeat to Aston Villa in their final game before the international break.
And, with the Italian under increasing scrutiny, the Spurs manager asked his players to step up to the challenge against United.
“I’ve been waiting for this match for three weeks. After the home defeat against Villa, personally, I wanted to play the next day,” he told reporters on Friday.
“It was difficult, it was very hard, especially the first week. But that’s football. That’s part of the situation at the moment. We have to react, work at that moment.”
Tottenham misses need to improve their goal
Tottenham failed to score in their first four league matches before finally finding the net twice against Villa.
De Zerbi admitted his side needed to improve their attack if they made it out of the bottom three.
“We created chances to score many more goals in these seven games, but we didn’t. We are working to improve in the final third, assists and finishing,” he said.
“We are fourth in the ranking of the team which most often brings the ball into the opponent’s area.
“It’s nothing but it shows we can get into the box. We’re not good enough to score goals so far when we have clear chances.”
Can Carrick or De Zerbi survive “El Sackiko”?
With Carrick also under pressure following his poor start, Tottenham’s trip to Manchester was nicknamed ‘El Sackiko’.
De Zerbi saved Tottenham from relegation after his arrival at the end of last season, but this final-day survival feat is unlikely to save them from the ax if results do not improve soon.
“We are Tottenham. United and Tottenham are still big clubs in the Premier League,” he said.
“We have to deserve to work at this club, play better and get different results.”
What happened the last time Man United faced Tottenham
The two sides last met in February in a Premier League encounter at Old Trafford, with the home side winning 2-0.
Cristian Romero was shown in red on the half-hour mark for Spurs before Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes scored United’s goals.
When did Tottenham last beat Manchester United?
Spurs beat United 1-0 in the UEFA Europa League final in May 2025, thanks to Brennan Johnson’s first-half goal.
This match marked Ange Postecoglou’s last match in charge of the club before being sacked for his low league ranking.
Ruben Amorim paid the same heavy price the following season.
When was the last time Tottenham won a match at Manchester United?
Spurs put the pressure on Amorim at the start of the 2024-25 season with a 3-0 Premier League victory at Old Trafford.
Johnson gave the away side a third-minute lead, before United had Bruno Fernandes sent off just before half-time.
Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke completed the scoring in the second half.
Head to Head – Manchester United vs Tottenham
This will be the 205th meeting between the clubs, with United winning 96 matches to Tottenham’s 56 wins.
Prediction – Manchester United vs Tottenham
Supercomputer Opta gave United a 54 percent chance of winning, while giving Spurs just a 22 percent chance of emerging victorious.
Manchester United team news
“It’s definitely been a bit of a mixed bag through the internationals,” Carrick said. “(Wing back) Patrick Dorgu is out and it looks like he will probably be out for several weeks.
“(Defender) Noussair Mazraoui came out and took a knock. He’s not quite well yet, we’ll have to see how he’s doing.”
He added that Carlos Baleba was improving, while fellow midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, winger Amad Diallo and striker Marcus Rashford had returned to limited training. Striker Benjamin Sesko remains even further away from a return.
Manchester United’s predicted starting XI
Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; Mainoo, Tielemans; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Rashford; Cunha
Tottenham team news
Kulusevski, Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Mykhaylo Mudryk all remain out due to injury.
Jan Paul van Hecke has recovered from a foot injury but could miss out after his wife gave birth to twins – the club said emotional needs would be taken into account.
Tottenham Hotspur predicted starting XI
Kinski; Gray, Senesi, Van de Ven, Robertson; Gallagher, Tonali, Fernandes; Savio, Solanke, Marmoush
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