Set the scene for me… With six points separating the sides, who are adjacent in the table heading into the week, both will know a positive result is crucial going into a busy run of festive fixtures. After back-to-back defeats, Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs will be in confident mood after bouncing back with an emphatic 5-0 win over Swansea last weekend and a 3-1 Champions League win over CSKA Moscow on Tuesday at Wembley, which guaranteed a place in the Europa League knockout stages. The Reds joined them in the last 32 on Thursday night as second-half strikes from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic secured the Reds' passage against Zorya Luhansk, amid sub-zero temperatures in Ukraine. Mourinho's men alternated between draws and victories in the last six games, but boast a formidable record against the Lilywhites having lost only three league games against Spurs in the last 15 years.
How did we fare against Spurs last season? The Reds kicked off the campaign with a 1-0 victory over Tottenham on a sun-kissed afternoon at Old Trafford in the first Premier League game of 2015/16, as a first-half own goal by Kyle Walker proved the difference. But it was a tough afternoon for United in the last meeting in April as goals from Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela gave Spurs a comfortable 3-0 win at White Hart Lane.
Any team news for us? With this big game less than 72 hours after Thursday’s Europa League trip to Odessa, Jose Mourinho left several players at home for the win over Zorya – including Michael Carrick, Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian, who are likely to return to the squad. Eric Bailly could make a second successive start in defence after impressing on his return from a knee injury and captain Wayne Rooney, who has scored eight goals in his last 10 league starts against Spurs, is set to return from a one-match domestic ban, which he served against his former club Everton last weekend. Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling remain unavailable as they recover from injuries.
Any trivia for me? Michael Carrick could face the team he made his name at and joined United from over a decade ago. The 35-year-old scored twice in 75 appearances for Spurs during his two seasons at the club before moving to the Theatre of Dreams for £18million in the summer of 2006. The midfielder certainly made an impact against his former club two years ago, scoring the second goal in a 3-0 home win over Spurs. Meanwhile, fellow Englishman Ashley Young could make his 150th appearance for the Reds in all competitions.
What have our players been saying? “We know how hard it is to play against Spurs. We’re playing at home, where we didn’t win for four games with four draws, so we just want to win this game and get to the top of the league.” – Paul Pogba
What’s going in elsewhere in the Premier League? In two of the standout games, our fierce rivals Manchester City travel to champions Leicester City in Saturday’s evening kick-off and current leaders Chelsea host a resurgent West Brom on Sunday.
Saturday 10 December (15:00 GMT unless stated)
Watford v Everton, 12:30
Arsenal v Stoke City
Burnley v Bournemouth
Hull City v Crystal Palace
Swansea City v Sunderland
Leicester City v Manchester City, 17:30
Sunday 11 December
Chelsea v West Bromwich Albion, 12:00
Southampton v Middlesbrough, 14:15
Liverpool v West Ham United, 16:30
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