European chasers Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United meet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday night.
Spurs return to action in 8th place – four points behind 5th-place Man Utd and seven points shy of the Champions League places.
It’s fair to say that Tottenham have enjoyed mixed fortunes since Jose Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino as manager back in November.
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Three straight victories across January and February lifted the club into the European spots, but a three-game winless run leading up to the break saw the club drop back down the table.
After losing to top-four rivals Chelsea and Wolves, Spurs were held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley in their final game before the season was put on hold.
By contrast, Man Utd were on an excellent run when the campaign was suspended. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are unbeaten in their last five league games and have won six of their previous 11.
It’s also worth pointing out that United have kept four clean sheets in their past five league games. The team had some defensive issues earlier in the season, but they were formidable before the break.
A 2-0 victory over bitter rivals Manchester City in their final league game before the lay-off saw Man Utd go into the unexpected break on a high.
The overall head-to-head record between these two teams doesn’t look pretty for Spurs. Man Utd are unbeaten in 35 of their most recent 42 meetings in all competitions.
The Red Devils beat Tottenham 2-1 earlier in the season, meaning they have won three of the previous four games in this fixture.
Both these sides will be boosted by the return of numerous key performers, with the three-month lay-off giving injured players the opportunity to recover.
Spurs will welcome back star striker Harry Kane from a long-term injury, although highly-rated young defender Japhet Tanganga will miss out after picking up a back problem.
As for Man Utd, key duo Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford will be available, while January signing Bruno Fernandes will be hoping to rediscover the red-hot form he found before the campaign was put on hold.
If the pre-coronavirus form of these two teams is anything to go by, Man Utd will be expected to win on Friday.
Spurs have only won one of their last seven games in all competitions, while Man Utd are on an eye-catching 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
Forebet predicts that Manchester United will pick up where they left off before the season was suspended.
This is likely to be a high-scoring encounter, and both teams are expected to get on the scoresheet. But Man Utd should come out on top.