Six matchdays in, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are not where anyone expected them to be. United sit 12th on five points while Spurs are bottom with two, a position that looks less like a blip and more like an early diagnosis of something structural. They meet at Old Trafford on 10 October 2026, with both clubs already fighting to avoid the kind of start that takes months to undo.
Michael Carrick took over at United on 22 May 2026 following Ruben Amorim's departure, while Roberto De Zerbi arrived at Spurs on 31 March 2026 to replace Igor Tudor. They met once before in September 2023, when De Zerbi's Brighton beat United 3-1, though that result tells you almost nothing useful now that both men are working with different squads and facing entirely different pressures.
United's last five reads L W D L D, including a 1-0 loss at Manchester City on the opening day before draws of 2-2 with Everton and 1-1 with Fulham, producing a side that looks organised defensively without having figured out how to score reliably. Spurs have fared worse, going L L D D L with defeats to Aston Villa and Newcastle. They have lost the ball cheaply in transition and struggled to sustain attacks without a reliable link between their midfield and their striker, which is the more specific problem De Zerbi has yet to solve.
Carrick is without Manuel Ugarte, out with a knee/ACL injury and Matthijs de Ligt, missing with a back problem. Losing a holding midfielder and a centre back at the same time is awkward but Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes are the two players United's build up runs through and that remains true regardless.
De Zerbi is dealing with a worse set of absences. Micky van de Ven is out with a wrist injury, Xavi Simons is unavailable until February 2027 after his ACL and Pedro Porro is a doubt with a hamstring problem. That combination strips Spurs of their best ball playing centre back, their most creative link midfielder and possibly their first choice right back, leaving Dominic Solanke and Sandro Tonali as the primary creative and physical outlets in attack.
Carrick has run a pragmatic 4-2-3-1 and without Ugarte the double pivot loses its defensive anchor. Mainoo will likely sit deeper to protect the back four, meaning United will cede possession to Spurs in the middle third and look to transition quickly when they win it back. Fernandes' value in that structure is in the moments immediately after the ball is recovered, dropping to collect and then playing forward directly into the space behind Spurs' defensive line.
De Zerbi's possession based 4-3-3 will look different without van de Ven carrying the ball out from the back and without Simons finding pockets between the lines to connect midfield and attack. Simons was probably the player best positioned to work in the narrow half spaces between United's lines where De Zerbi's system looks for third man combinations and Solanke is a poorer bet to create anything from those areas. If Porro doesn't start, the right side loses its width too, which means Spurs will likely see more of the ball but predominantly in front of United's block, without the runners in behind to shift United's defensive shape.
Mainoo's ability to carry through pressure becomes particularly important in that context. A centre back pairing that is less mobile than usual will be vulnerable when the ball reaches him in space and Fernandes will target set pieces and late runs into the box accordingly. Fernandes' delivery into the near post and far post areas is more dangerous against a Spurs side missing its most reliable aerial defender and if Porro does miss out, the right side of Spurs' backline is even less equipped to deal with early balls into the box.
United have dominated this fixture historically, winning roughly 97 meetings to Spurs' 58 and the most recent league encounter at Old Trafford ended 2-0 to United in February 2026, a game United were relatively comfortable throughout.
Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur is the call. United will sit in a mid block around the halfway line and allow Spurs to build in front of them then transition quickly through Mainoo and Fernandes when possession is won. Spurs will likely see plenty of the ball but without van de Ven to carry it forward from deep, their attacks will arrive slowly enough for United to reorganise before they become genuinely threatening and without Porro the right side offers little width to drag United's shape out of position. United score from a set piece, almost certainly a Fernandes delivery into the box, then add a second late when Spurs push both fullbacks forward in search of a goal and leave space in behind that United's forwards exploit. Van de Ven's absence is the difference.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
