Manchester United will look to continue to revive their season when they take on Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. Both clubs are under a bit of pressure at the moment with United, in particular, in desperate need of a win after they managed just two wins in their last eight league games.
Tottenham, on the other hand, who were handed their first league defeat at the hands of Chelsea two weeks back, came back strong the following week hammering Swansea 5-0 followed by a 3-1 win against CSKA Moscow.
Manchester United still haven't made a huge impact this season, especially against big teams, and this match against Tottenham presents them with the perfect opportunity to show the class their huge list of talented players have.
As far as team news goes, Manchester United will still be without Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw who are still injured. Eric Bailly who made his comeback from injury mid-week against Zorya in the Europa League could also make the starting 11. Wayne Rooney, who was suspended for the match against Everton last week, is also in contention to start. However, with Paul Pogba thriving in a more advanced role at the moment, Rooney might have to settle for the bench once again. Manchester United fans will be keen to see how Henrikh Mkhitaryan performs. The winger had a tough start to life at Manchester United but his recent performances, especially his goal against Zorya, shows why United paid so much for him.
"I'm very happy with the evolution of the team, I'm very happy with the difference between the team I got handed and the team that is playing now, I find United's position unfair, I find that we should have much more points than we have. You look at the table; it looks like other teams are better than us when in my opinion this is not true. So many draws we deserve victories, if you transform these draws to wins we would be very close the top of the league, in-between the top three or the top four," Goal.com quoted Jose Mourinho as saying.
Tottenham Hotspur will receive a major boost with the news that star defender Toby Alderweireld could make his comeback against Manchester United. The Belgium defender has been out since October and his ability to help the team defensively as well as while attacking will certainly be a plus point for them. Spurs will also be boosted by Harry Kane who recently signed a new contract with the club. He has also been among the goals, scoring a brace against Swansea last week and against CSKA Moscow in mid-week, but the Englishman does not have a good record against Manchester United.
Tottenham Boss Mauricio Pochettino believes his side will have a tough time against Manchester United and feels that the United boss has been receiving an unfair amount of criticism from the media.
"I like Mourinho and I have a good relationship with him. Many managers' behaviour is worse than his but because he is the 'Special One', there is more of a focus on him. The refs focus on him, the media focus on him. Other managers are worse than him but they do not get the attention because they are not the 'Special One' like him. He's the 'Special One' and always will be the 'Special One'. He's one of the best. In some periods in football, you struggle a little bit. It's not easy to arrive at a new club and settle your ideas, your philosophy," the Tottenham boss was quoted as saying.
Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur is set to kick off at 7.45 pm IST (2.15 pm GMT, 9.15 am EST) on December 11.
Where to watch live
India: TV - Star Sports Select HD 1. Live streaming - unavailable
UK: TV – Sky Sports 1/HD. Live streaming - BT Sport Live
USA: TV - NBC Sports Network. Live streaming - NBC Live
Australia: TV- Optus Sports
Spain: TV- Movistar+
Live streaming (subscription needed): MUTV
