Manchester United vs Tottenham preview: Spurs rotten start, team news and prediction

Manchester United host a Tottenham side enduring their worst start to a Premier League season at Old Trafford on October 10, 2026, kicking off at 17:30 WAT.

Roberto De Zerbi has taken just two points from his first five league games in charge of a relegation-threatened Tottenham, while Michael Carrick’s Manchester United arrives eight places above and three points better off in 12th.

Match Facts · Manchester United vs Tottenham

Competition: Premier League, Matchday 6

Date: October 10, 2026

Kickoff: 17:30 WAT

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester

Referee: Stuart Attwell

League positions: Manchester United 12th · Tottenham 20th

Last meeting: Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham, February 7, 2026

Form guide: Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur

No side in the Premier League has taken fewer points than Tottenham’s two from their first five fixtures, the club’s worst start to a league campaign on record.

Tottenham have won none of their last five matches in all competitions, losing 0-2 at home to Newcastle, drawing 0-0 in back-to-back games against Nottingham Forest and Everton, exiting the League Cup 1-3 at Liverpool, and losing 2-3 at Aston Villa.

Manchester United have won one, drawn two and lost two of their own last five across all competitions, scoring nine and conceding seven, including a comfortable 4-0 Champions League win over Sabah FK sandwiched between a home league defeat to Manchester City and a League Cup exit to Brighton.

Bryan Mbeumo has started all five of United’s Premier League matches this season, scoring twice, while Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke has made the same number of appearances but started only two, managing just 172 minutes without a goal or an assist in the league.

Head-to-Head: Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur

This will be the first meeting between the two sides this season, so there is no reverse fixture to draw on, but last season’s head-to-head makes for a useful guide.

Tottenham have won three of the last five meetings between the clubs, including a 4-3 League Cup win in December 2024 and 2025’s Europa League final defeat of United in Bilbao.

United’s response came at Old Trafford, though. A 2-0 Premier League win in February, and a 2-2 draw away at Tottenham the previous November.

Over the past 36 fixtures, Manchester United have won 16 games against Tottenham Hotspur, with eight draws between them.

Bruno Fernandes vs Tottenham’s midfield

Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in four of Manchester United’s Premier League goals this season, scoring three and providing one assist and how he is handled between Tottenham’s lines will shape the whole match.

Sandro Tonali and Rodrigo Bentancur make up Tottenham’s double pivot, and both will be asked to deny Fernandes the half-turns he thrives on rather than just man-marking him, since a misstep there has opened Tottenham up to transitions this season.

If Fernandes finds pockets of space the way he did in the 2-0 win back in February, Tottenham’s makeshift back four will be defending with an already broken screen.

Mbeumo and Rashford against a patched-up right flank

Pedro Porro’s absence with a hamstring injury pushes Archie Gray into an unfamiliar role at right-back, where he could be directly facing Cunha, Rashford or Mbeumo.

Marcus Rashford, if he overcomes the knock that forced him off against Fulham, offers the same kind of threat, meaning Tottenham’s two full-backs face United’s two attacking outlets with no settled partnership between them.

That mismatch, more than any single individual battle, is where this game is most likely to be decided.

Dominic Solanke against a makeshift Manchester United back line

Dominic Solanke has not scored or assisted in the Premier League this season, and with Mykhaylo Mudryk and Wilson Odobert both out and Dejan Kulusevski barely fit, he has had little service to work with.

Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez, United’s settled centre-back pairing with Matthijs de Ligt still recovering from back surgery, will fancy their chances against a striker who has started only two of Tottenham’s five league games.

Team News: Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham

Tottenham’s injury list is dominated by attackers, with Mudryk and Odobert both missing and Kulusevski nowhere near full fitness.

Richarlison has played just 68 Premier League minutes this season after being left out of the club’s 25-man list from the opening weekend.

Micky van de Ven is expected to return at centre-back after a minor hand injury, while Jan Paul van Hecke’s fitness is a closer call, with Marcos Senesi waiting to partner van de Ven if he does not recover in time.

Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Kinsky; Gray, Senesi, Van de Ven, Udogie; Tonali, Bentancur; Marmoush, Kudus, Savio; Solanke.

Manchester United

Carrick’s defensive options are stretched too, with de Ligt still working his way back from surgery and Luke Shaw carrying a knock into the weekend, leaving Maguire and Martinez as the settled centre-back pairing.

Benjamin Sesko has been ruled out with a shin and calf issue, Carrick has confirmed, while Rashford’s involvement remains the biggest doubt in attack after the knock picked up against Fulham.

Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; Tielemans, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Rashford; Cunha.

The Verdict

Manchester United 3-1 Tottenham

United's underlying form and the Fernandes-Mbeumo-Rashford battle against a patched-up Tottenham back line should be enough to continue their recent Old Trafford dominance in this fixture, even with Tottenham likely to find a goal of their own through midfield given how blunt their front line has been. Likely scorers: Bruno Fernandes, Mbeumo for Manchester United, Mateus Fernandes for Tottenham.