Good evening and welcome to live coverage of Tottenham Hotspur's trip to Old Trafford, where there will be as much attention paid to the touchline as the pitch as Jose Mourinho faces Manchester United for the first time since he was sacked by United last season. As if that wasn't enough narrative to accompany a game between two top-four rivals, the spectre of ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino looms large over United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose future is far from certain.
Premier League / Matchday 15
Old Trafford / 04.12.2019
/dnl.tntsports.co.uk/sd/img/match/football-header-bg-mobile.jpg)
/images.sports.gracenote.com/images/lib/basic/sport/football/club/logo/300/4080.png){kind=logo}
/images.sports.gracenote.com/images/lib/basic/sport/football/club/logo/300/4129.png){kind=logo}
- M. Rashford(6', 49' PEN)
- D. Alli(39')
Live
Live Updates
:focal(178x132:180x130)/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2023/04/03/3673848-74785904-310-310.jpg)
Updated 04/12/2019 at 21:24 GMT
19:20
A Lucas Moura brace helped Tottenham win 3-0 here last season. United won the reverse fixture 1-0 at Wembley.
19:15
Central midfield has been a suspect area for United this season, so that battle will be an interesting one to watch this evening. McTominay has established himself as on the team's more consistent performers, so his return is a boost, but the inclusion of Winks by Mourinho suggests he thinks Spurs can dominate possession.
19:10
No Tottenham manager has ever won their first three Premier League games with the club. Mourinho could change that tonight.
19:05
A man with a foot in both camps, Dimitar Berbatov is at Old Trafford tonight.
19:00
Managerial drama aside, this game is a significant one in the race for the top four. The chasing pack is bunched up, with the teams in fifth and 11th separated by just three points, and the Red Devils - currently 10th on 18 points - will leapfrog Spurs if they win. Depending on the Wolves result, a Tottenham will could see them return to 5th. Despite their poor start to the campaign, they are only six point off a Champions League place.
18:55
Rashford has eight goals in his last 10 games for club and country. That doesn’t include his effort against Villa last time out.
18:50
Mourinho was in a philosophical mood in his pre-game press conference, attributing a quote to Nelson Mandela that he almost certainly did not say and insisting “I am Tottenham.”
18:45
Tottenham have gone nine Premier League games without keeping a clean sheet. On their travels, it's 14 league matches without a clean sheet.
18:40
Lacas Moura, Spurs' hero here last season, is one of two changes Mourinho has made to the Tottenham team. Harry Winks is the other man who comes in, with Christian Eriksen again left on the bench. This looks like a team with plenty of pace to hit United on the break and not one designed to stop the opposition playing - maybe he has changed after all.
TOTTENHAM: Gazzaniga, Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Winks, Sissoko, Alli, Son, Moura, Kane. Subs: Austin, Rose, Foyth, Dier, Ndombele, Eriksen, Lo Celso.
18:35
With that in mind, Solskjaer makes four changes to the team that drew with Aston Villa last time out. The headline inclusion is 18-year-old Mason Greenwood, who replaces the injured Anthony Martial, while fit-again Scott McTominay, Ashley Young and Jesse Lingard also come into the team. Featuring just the two central midfielders, it's a fairly attacking line-up.
MANCHESTER UNITED: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Young, Fred, McTominay, James, Lingard, Greenwood, Rashford. Subs: Romero, Tuanzebe, Shaw, Williams, Garner, Pereira, Mata.