View: Pace will be crucial in clash between Tottenham and Manchester United
Tottenham will host Manchester United in the club’s first home match of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign, and tests don’t come much tougher than this.
Ange Postecoglou will be preparing to lead his side out for the first time in front of home support at what is guaranteed to be a packed and noisy Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The fixture list has not been kind to the Australian, who has had a tough start to contend with in his early Premier League days. A trip to Brentford was the first test, and now a visit from one of the the giants of the competition.
After getting the season up and running with a 2-2 draw during their visit to the Gtech Community Stadium, a showdown with the Red Devils gives this new-look Spurs side a chance to produce a statement result and send a message to the rest of the Premier League.
Of course, that will not be easy by any means, and the 57-year-old’s style of play runs the risk of being exposed against a United side who are strong in transition.
One of the primary concerns for supporters will be the prospect of Marcus Rashford up against the Tottenham backline. Postecoglou demands that his players play a high line and always look to dominate possession further up the pitch, squeezing the opposition wherever possible. This was evident against Brentford.
The photo above demonstrates how high Spurs’ two centre-backs, Davinson Sanchez and Micky van de Ven (within the red square), are positioned in the build-up to Emerson Royal’s goal, which levelled the scoring.
While it worked out for Tottenham on this occasion, against a stronger side like United, they could win the ball back in midfield and look to play it forward to Rashford, who has pace to burn.
If Rashford gets a chance at goal, he is likely to score, as demonstrated by the stats last season. As per fbref, the England international registered 0.48 expected goals per 90 last season, yet outperformed this, scoring 0.53 goals per 90.
This will cause particular concern to Spurs supporters, especially considering the shaky debut of their goalkeeper from Italy, Guglielmo Vicario. At times, the 26-year-old looked nervous and prone to making an error, something he cannot be against the quality of Manchester United.
While this will cause some concern, the pace and physicality of the two brand-new additions to the left-hand side of Tottenham’s defence will leave supporters feeling slightly reassured that they will be able to handle the Rashford challenge.
Both Destiny Udogie and Van de Ven are incredibly quick and will relish the task of keeping up with the Manchester United striker. As per Sofascore, neither defender was dribbled past during their Premier League debuts, and they made five tackles between them.
Their inclusion in the team allows the side to play the high line which Postecoglou is so clearly a fan of doing.
Whatever happens, the match against United will give fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a much clearer idea of where they are as a team.
In other Tottenham news, a winger the club is targeting could be the perfect player for Postecoglou.