Opposition Preview: Manchester United | OneFootball

Tomorrow evening, Spurs will take to the field for their biggest game of the season so far, as they welcome Manchester United to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, for a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash. Ange’s comments about winning things in his second season have been well documented – so this is a huge opportunity to go towards backing that up.

So, what can we expect from United coming into this game?

Taking a look at how tomorrow's opponents are shaping up

Owing to the size of the club, most things about United are generally fairly well known, but let’s recap things to keep our minds fresh ahead of this showdown.

In late October, United took the decision to sack Erik Ten Hag after a defeat away to West Ham United, ending his spell of just over two years at Old Trafford. They then advanced to this round of the Carabao Cup by beating Leicester City under interim manager and club legend Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who ironically is now in permanent charge of the Foxes.

Soon after, the club appointed Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim, who had an impressive CV from his time in Portugal, as he ended Sporting’s near two decade wait to become league champions in 2022, backing it up with another title in 2024.

Overall, it has been a mixed start to life in Manchester for Amorim, but last time out they did pull off a late comeback to beat Manchester City 2-1 at the Etihad in the Manchester derby. Admittedly, this is far from the best iteration of City, but to win a game as important as that, and in that manner, will have done wonders to the squad morale.

The Portuguese manager religiously plays with a 343 shape, which has benefited some players, and others not so much. Manuel Ugarte has improved since he took over, with the two having worked together at Sporting. Harry Maguire looked very good in the middle of the back 3, during their victory at the Etihad.

There is little doubt that Amad Diallo is currently the key dangerman. Whether it be at right-wing back, or as one of the two number tens, the Ivorian has looked superb under Amorim so far, culmunating in his penalty win and goal in that win over City. Whichever role he plays here, Spurs will have to be very wary of his threat.

Ahead of the game, the United injury report states that Luke Shaw is out – whilst Noussair Mazraoui, Jonny Evans, and Mason Mount are doubtful. You can take or leave the latter two, but Mazraoui being out would be a big bonus for Spurs, with the Moroccan international impressing since making the switch from Bayern Munich in the summer.

In the aforementioned win over City, both Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were left out of the match day squad, with the former admitting he is ready for a new challenge. Regardless of view on both as players, there is no doubt that they both thrive more against high lines, and it wouldn’t do Ange’s side any harm if neither player is in action here.

This will be a very tough game, much tougher than it would have been six weeks ago, or even more recently than that. However, at home, it will feel like a big disappointment not to advance to the semi-finals. Let's see.