Leicester City are now seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table. Despite dropping two points at the weekend, Tottenham are still in the title race but another draw or loss would realistically end their title challenge.
Manchester United will visit Maurico Pochettino’s team on Sunday. The 20-time English champions beat Everton 1 – 0 at the weekend courtesy of Anthony Martial’s 54th-minute strike. The fifth-placed United are keeping pace with the other contenders for the Champions League spot. They are just a point behind fourth-placed Manchester City, and both these arch rivals might fight for the fourth position until the last game of the season.
Tottenham drew 1 – 1 against Liverpool at Anfield. The Merseyside giants took the lead through Coutinho in the 51st minute, but Premier League top goalscorer Harry Kane came to the aid of his side and netted the equalizer in the 63rd minute.
The North Londoners will once again look towards Kane for inspiration as they come face to face with Van Gaal’s United. Manchester United played host to Spurs on the opening day of the season. The Red Devils won 1 – 0 at Old Trafford courtesy of an own goal by Kyle Walker. However, this time around the London club are the favourites to win the upcoming clash.
Tottenham were knocked out of the Europa League, and Mauricio Pochettino is glad that his team will get time to recover for the clash against United.
“We haven’t had many clear weeks this season.” Pochettino said, according to The Evening Standard. “We’ve had a lot of midweek games, but it will be nice to have a bit of recovery time and then work hard to try to get the three points against United on Sunday. In football, you always need to be ready for the next game. Now we have a few days to recover and try to prepare for United.
He added: “It’s important because we only really had one day to prepare for Liverpool. International weeks can be difficult, 90% of the players are away, but now we have six games left in six weeks and time to prepare the players. We will fight until the end of the season.”
Manchester United are nine points behind Tottenham with a game-in-hand. It is highly unlikely for them to catch the London club but with a win they can certainly make things difficult for the second-placed team.
With four wins and two losses from their last six league games, Manchester United have a slightly better league form than their opponents on the weekend. Pochettino’s Spurs have won three and drawn two of their last six Premier League fixtures.
The 2015/2016 Premier League season is among the most unpredictable ones ever. The competition is getting more intense and exciting with each passing week.