“I can tell you…” Manchester United vs Tottenham predicted to end in four-goal thriller

Former Arsenal defender Paul Merson has explained that he feels Manchester United against Tottenham will end in a four-goal thriller on Sunday afternoon.

Following a frustrating 1-1 draw against FC Twente in the Europa League, Manchester United are set to refocus on the Premier League as they welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford.

Erik ten Hag‘s squad has had a challenging start to the season, winning only two out of their first five matches and scoring a total of just five goals.

Read More: Erik ten Hag ‘makes decision’ about dropping Bruno Fernandes ahead of Tottenham clash

Similarly, Tottenham have struggled, securing two victories in their opening five games. Both teams find themselves tied on seven points, but Tottenham has the advantage with a better goal difference.

Ahead of the game, former Arsenal defender Paul Merson told Sportskeeda that he believes the tie will end in a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.

 “This is a huge game for both teams. Tottenham play a dangerously high line and Manchester United are not great at the back, so it’s a very open football match. I expect there will be loads of goals in this one, too,” he said.

“It’s hard to point out what’s exactly going wrong at Manchester United at the moment. But I can tell you, something’s definitely not right. They have to get back into the top four, that should be like bread and butter for a club of this stature.

“It was the perfect game against Twente for them to get a win and take some pressure off themselves. But look at how it went, they failed to win despite taking the lead! If they lose to Tottenham on Sunday, it’s a massive problem for United. Ten Hag has to win this game for sure, nothing else would do for them.

“We’re potentially looking at Villa and Chelsea winning this week, so if Tottenham also get a win over them, that’s a huge blow in the race for top four. Let’s not forget they failed to win last weekend as well, so it’s massive pressure.

“If Rasmus Hojlund is fit, I think he should always play and that’s the same with Marcus Rashford. They should figure out a way to play both Alejandro Garnacho and Rashford together, that’ll give them an edge in attack. But the funny thing is, I would be surprised if all of them play together. We saw the other day how Rashford was on the bench even when he was in form.

“Spurs have been alright this season. Against Arsenal, the quality of set-pieces were the only difference between them. But they should’ve beaten both Newcastle and Leicester, if they don’t win these types of games, it starts to look a bit Spursy!

“As things stand, there are not a lot of problems with them. But if they lose this game, they are the team with the fourth-best chance of finishing fourth.”

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