Manchester United are facing the possibility of playing two crucial games in less than 48 hours, following the confirmation of their Carabao Cup quarter-final meeting with Tottenham Hotspur.
United proceeded to the quarter-final stage of the competition after easing past Leicester City in a 5-2 victory last week. The match was Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first as interim manager.
United have now confirmed that they will take on Ange Postecoglou’s men at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday 19 December.
Kick-off is at 20:00 BST and unsurprisingly, the fixture has been selected to be shown live on Sky Sports.
It was expected that quarter-final ties will be played in the week commencing Monday, December 16.
Presumably, this would have seen the Red Devils’ clash with the North London outfit take place on either Tuesday, December 17 or Wednesday, December 18, in line with Carabao Cup traditions.
Currently, United are set to face Spurs on December 19, followed by a home match against Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Saturday, December 21, with the latter kicking off at 15:00 BST.
If this stands, the 20-time English champions will be forced to prepare for two matches in less than 48 hours.
Last month, the Premier League revealed its TV picks for the Christmas and New Year period, and United’s match against Bournemouth was not selected for live broadcast in the UK, so it remains scheduled for its original 15:00 BST time slot on December 21.
Even worse for United is that they are scheduled to take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on December 15. Ruben Amorim and his players may therefore find themselves in a situation in which they play three times in less than a week.
There is certainly a serious risk of the United stars pushing themselves to the limit.
It’s unclear whether the club will seek a postponement of the Bournemouth clash to guarantee the team a little bit more recovery time.
Featured image Nathan Stirk via Getty Images
Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
