Manchester United v Tottenham: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch

Premier League, Round 6

Manchester United MUN

10/10/2026 17:30

Tottenham TOT

Old Trafford

Stuart Attwell

Preview for Manchester United v Tottenham

Two of the Premier League’s biggest spenders, two of its most disappointing starters. Manchester United and Tottenham meet at Old Trafford on Saturday evening with a combined seven points from 10 games between them, and both managers know a defeat here will turn the volume up on the noise around them.

United’s slump is the more surprising of the two. Michael Carrick dragged them to a third-placed finish last season after taking over in January, but five points from their opening five games is the club’s joint-lowest tally at this stage of a top-flight campaign. They lost 2-0 at Hull on the opening day, thrashed Ipswich 5-2, drew 2-2 at Everton, lost 1-0 at home to a Manchester City side who spent a long spell with 10 men, and needed a deflected 89th-minute Matheus Cunha equaliser to scrape a 1-1 draw at Fulham before the break.

Throw in a 3-2 EFL Cup defeat at home to Brighton, a game United led by two goals in the first half, and it is four domestic matches without a win. The defence is the big worry. Their only clean sheet in seven games across all competitions came in a 4-0 Champions League win over Sabah, and they have conceded at least twice in four of those matches. Carrick insists he is not bothered by the speculation, but he will know the margin for error is getting thin.

If United are struggling, Tottenham are in genuine crisis territory. Spurs survived relegation on the final day of last season, finishing 17th for the second year running, and then spent over £300m rebuilding the squad. Mateus Fernandes arrived from West Ham for a club-record £85m before Sandro Tonali broke that record again, joining from Newcastle in a deal that could reach £100m.

So far, the return has been two points from five games and they sit at the foot of the table. It is the first time since 2008-09 that Spurs have been rock bottom after five matches. They lost 3-0 at Brentford on the opening day, drew 0-0 with Everton and Nottingham Forest, lost 2-0 to Newcastle and then went down 3-2 at home to Aston Villa before the break.

Defeat on Saturday would make this only the fourth time in the club’s history that Spurs have failed to win any of their first six league games. There is a crumb of comfort for the visitors, though. Roberto De Zerbi won on his last visit to Old Trafford with Brighton in 2023, and Spurs have won four of the last six meetings between these sides.

The Premier League Table

Premier League 2026

England

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 5
1	Manchester City	5	5	0	0	13	5	8	15	W W W W W
2	Arsenal	5	4	0	1	8	4	4	12	L W W W W
3	Brighton	5	3	1	1	16	5	11	10	W W D L W
4	Brentford	5	2	3	0	10	4	6	9	W D D D W
5	Leeds	5	2	3	0	7	3	4	9	D W D D W
6	Liverpool	5	2	3	0	7	4	3	9	W D W D D
7	Everton	5	2	3	0	6	3	3	9	W D D D W
8	Hull City	5	2	2	1	6	4	2	8	L D D W W
9	Newcastle	5	2	2	1	9	9	0	8	W L D W D
10	Chelsea	5	2	1	2	10	12	-2	7	L D L W W
11	Ipswich	5	2	0	3	7	11	-4	6	L W L L W
12	Manchester United	5	1	2	2	8	8	0	5	D L D W L
13	Nottingham Forest	5	1	2	2	4	5	-1	5	L W D D L
14	Sunderland	5	1	1	3	6	10	-4	4	L L D W L
15	Crystal Palace	5	1	1	3	6	11	-5	4	D L W L L
16	Aston Villa	5	1	1	3	4	9	-5	4	W L D L L
17	Bournemouth	5	0	3	2	6	8	-2	3	L D D D L
18	Coventry	5	1	0	4	1	10	-9	3	W L L L L
19	Fulham	5	0	2	3	5	8	-3	2	D D L L L
20	Tottenham	5	0	2	3	2	8	-6	2	L D D L L

• Position 1, 2, 3, 4 : Promotion – Champions League (League phase)
• Position 5 : Promotion – Europa League (League phase)
• Position 18, 19, 20 : Relegation – Championship

Team News for Manchester United v Tottenham

Michael Carrick gave a mixed update to the media regarding Manchester United’s fitness issues.

The Red Devils boss revealed Carlos Baleba is edging closer to a first appearance for the club after joining from Brighton in the summer, with the midfielder training across the international break.

The same goes for Amad Diallo, who could also feature in the matchday squad against Spurs.

However, the hosts will be without Benjamin Sesko, Noussair Mazraoui, and Patrick Dorgu, who are all dealing with injuries.

Marcus Rashford is also touch and go for the game, although Kobbie Mainoo’s knock may keep him out.

In the Tottenham camp, there is good news regarding Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul Van Hecke, who are both available despite picking up knocks on international duties for the Netherlands.

Dejan Kulusevski is travelling with the squad, but will not make the bench on this occasion, but could be in line to return against Coventry next week.

James Maddison is available for the visitors, but Pedro Porro remains out after tweaking his hamstring against Aston Villa.

Expected line-ups for Manchester United v Tottenham

Manchester United: Lammens, Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw, Tielemans, Santos, Mbeumo, Fernandes, Diallo, Cunha

Tottenham: Kinsky, Gray, Van Hecke, Van de Ven, Udogie, Tonali, Bentancur, Savio, Gallagher, Marmoush, Solanke

Recent Form & Stats for Manchester United v Tottenham

• Manchester United’s five points from five games is their joint-lowest tally at this stage of a top-flight season, matching 2014-15
• United have won just one of their last nine meetings with Tottenham (D3 L5)
• That one win was a 2-0 victory at Old Trafford in February, with Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes scoring
• Bruno Fernandes has scored three of his four goals against Spurs at Old Trafford
• Tottenham are bottom of the Premier League after five games for the first time since 2008-09
• Spurs are one of three Premier League sides yet to win this season, alongside Bournemouth and Fulham
• Dominic Solanke has scored three goals in his last four games against Manchester United
• Tottenham have failed to win any of their last 48 matches in all competitions in which they conceded the opening goal

Where to Watch Manchester United v Tottenham: TV and online streams

Manchester United v Tottenham kicks off at 5:30pm BST on Saturday, October 10 at Old Trafford.

The match is live on Sky Sports in the UK, in the Saturday evening slot. Subscribers can also stream it on the Sky Go app.

Global broadcast details can be found at premierleague.com.

Prediction for Manchester United v Tottenham

The desperation from both sides could lead to a scrappy game. United’s weakness is their defence but we think their creative players – led by Bruno Fernandes – may just sway it in their favour.

Match Prediction

Manchester United

2 – 1

Tottenham