Match preview: Tottenham v United

Match preview: Tottenham v United

Carabao Cup action returns for Manchester United, with a trip down to north London to face Tottenham in the quarter-final awaiting the Reds on Thursday.

Our hosts last lifted this trophy in 2008, with their final victory over Chelsea – inspired by future Red, Dimitar Berbatov – being their most recent taste of silverware.

Tottenham will be boosted by the recent 5-0 demolition of Southampton, while, after a huge victory late on against rivals Man City, Ruben Amorim’s team will have every hope of equalling the success of 2023, where we lifted the Carabao Cup at Wembley.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the fixture…

90 in 20: United v Newcastle Video

90 in 20: United v Newcastle

90 in 20 | Watch the extended highlights from the 2023 Carabao Cup final between United and Newcastle…

HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE GAME?

MUTV’S Matchday Live show gets under way at 18:55 GMT, featuring exclusive build-up and post-match reaction, either side of live radio commentary.

As always, you can tune in via ManUtd.com and the United App, where our Match Centre will have rolling updates, opinions and stats across the 90 minutes, as well as the highlights two hours after the final whistle. Longer versions will be made available from Friday. The game will also be screened live on Sky Sports, for viewers in the UK.

WHAT’S THE TEAM NEWS?

Ange Postecoglou currently has eight first-team players ruled out. First-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has an ankle injury that will see him away from action until February, while Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended.

Defenders Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies appear unlikely to be available for selection due to injury.

In attack, young winger Mikey Moore has been out with illness. Summer signing Wilson Odobert has a hamstring injury, the same issue which sees Richarlison out until the new year too.

For United, Luke Shaw remains out with a hamstring injury. Mason Mount recently went off early in the Manchester derby and although the severity of his injury is unknown, he appears to be a doubt. Noussair Mazraoui also sustained a knock at the Etihad Stadium, according to Amorim.

The Portuguese will hold his pre-match press conference at 09:00 BST on Wednesday.

OPPOSITION REPORT

In the league, Spurs sit only one point above United and occupy 10th place at the moment. They finished only two points outside of the Champions League football last year and will hope to go one better to secure top-level European football, as well as looking to win an elusive first trophy in 16 years.

To reach this stage of the cup, they narrowly beat Coventry City 2-1 in similar fashion to our recent derby win, with two late goals. Coventry wouldn’t be the only Sky Blues beaten in the cup by Spurs, as Manchester City also fell to a 2-1 defeat in the last round.

A blistering first half which saw them take a two-goal lead followed by some good game management was enough to beat Pep Guardiola’s side. This result marked the start of City’s recent poor form.

League Cup success against Spurs Video

League Cup success against Spurs

Take a trip down memory lane with our shootout victory over Tottenham in the 2009 League Cup final…

DID YOU KNOW?

The last time we played Spurs in this competition was in the 2009/10 season, with a 2-0 win at the quarter final stage taking us through. Darren Gibson scored a brace with two great strikes which proved enough to get the win.

We went on to win the trophy that year, beating Aston Villa 2-1 in the final, and should we go through, it would provide Amorim with a two-legged semi-final to negotiate in the new year.

RIVALS WATCH

With the Carabao Cup reaching crunch-time, an all-Premier League round of fixtures awaits, with a cross-London tie between Arsenal and Crystal Palace to look forward to in the last eight. Here’s the full list of games…

WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER

Arsenal v Crystal Palace (19:30 GMT)
Newcastle United v Brentford (19:45 GMT)
Southampton v Liverpool (20:00 GMT)

THURSDAY 19 DECEMBER

Tottenham v UNITED (20:00 GMT)

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