Head-to-head: Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur face off this weekend in the Premier League in real six-pointer. How do the two compare at this stage in the season?

Matchday 29 features the majority of the games played on Sunday, rather than on Saturday. But from the three games on Saturday comes the feature game of the weekend: Manchester United taking on Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

This game is a real six-pointer. Both sides are fighting for fourth place, the final guaranteed Champions League spot. Man United are in fifth and are ahead of Spurs in seventh, however, the London side has two games in hand, while The Red Devils are all caught up. 

This game is a huge opportunity for Spurs to get ahead of United and put themselves in a good position to stay ahead.

The two sides aren’t at their best this season. Both have changed their manager earlier in the campaign, with Spurs’ change coming after their 3-0 loss to Man United after the first time these two faced off.

Man United are coming off the back of a loss to their Manchester rivals, Man City, but before that were on a very nice nine game unbeaten run. Spurs have won their last two games, with nine goals scored and zero conceded. So recent form is slightly on their side, however, the Theatre of Dreams might play a big part.

Picking a winner in this one will be tough, with both teams likely to go for all three points. If you’re looking to bet on the winner or any market for the game, we’ve got you covered with the head-to-head comparison.

Goals

Manchester United: 45 

Tottenham Hotspur: 40 

Tottenham’s star striker Harry Kane had a really slow start to the season. However, 2022 has been a lot kinder for him, and he’s started to get back to the Harry Kane we’ve come to know over the years. Him and Son Heung-min are clicking brilliantly once again, and the goals are starting to flow.

Man United’s story is the opposite. The first half of the year saw some bigger scores, while the second half has seen more struggles with getting the ball in the back of the net. The Cristiano Ronaldo honeymoon return stage is well and truly over, as well. He has just one goal so far in this half of the season.

 

xG per 90 mins

Manchester United: 1.56 

Tottenham Hotspur: 1.63 

Both teams are expected well over a goal a game this season, which does look good for them. They rank fourth and fifth in the league for xG per 90 mins, with Spurs taking the higher spot.

Although, xG isn’t always great to go off. Tottenham had a 3.0 xG in their last game and they scored five, while United had a 0.5 xG in their last and got one. 

 

Shots total per 90 mins

Manchester United: 14.18 

Tottenham Hotspur: 12.58 

Man United ranks among the top five in the league for shots per 90 mins. 14.18 shots per game is a respectable amount and gives them a rate of 0.11 goals per shot.

Spurs are a couple places down in ninth, but are close with the goals per shot, with a rate of 0.10.

 

Shots on Target per 90 mins

Manchester United: 4.75

Tottenham Hotspur: 4.92 

United may take more shots, but Spurs show to be more accurate, as they fare better than United at hitting the target. 

Both rank highly in the league for the stat, though. Spurs are up in fourth for it, just 0.04 behind Chelsea in third. While Man United are in sixth.

 

 

Penalties 

Manchester United: 2/3 

Tottenham Hotspur: 2/2 

Penalties haven’t quite been coming for either side. Both are in the bottom half of the table for penalties attempted this season.

Though at least Spurs can boast a 100% conversion rate, with Harry Kane and their former player Dele Alli both converting.

Cristiano Ronaldo has of course become their primary penalty taker after Bruno Fernandes, their former primary penalty taker, missed his one and only chance.

 

Corners per game 

Manchester United: 5.29 

Tottenham Hotspur: 5.38 

How many corners will there be in a game is one of the popular markets, and if you so choose to gamble on the number in total or for either team in this game, you could look to go for a fair amount.

Expect both teams to go for the win, so shots and corners may be at a high through the game. They both average a fair five corners a game, so that's a good number to start on.

 

Cards 

Manchester United: 58 Y, 2 R 

Tottenham Hotspur: 48 Y, 1 R 

Manchester United’s discipline this season hasn’t been fantastic. Their 58 yellow cards see them in fourth for most in the league, and the two red cards aren't great either, with one being a straight red, which is never good.

Tottenham is a bit more disciplined. They’re 12th in the league for yellow cards and have one red card that was from two yellow cards. It's better than getting a straight red, but it's still a red card.

Man United average 2.07 yellow cards a game, while Tottenham average 1.85 yellows a game