Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United Match Preview

Photo credit: Manchester United FC

In their next WSL match, Spurs will take on second place team, Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The match will be held on Sunday the 2nd of February at 18:45 pm UTC; it will be streamed on Sky Sports Football, Sky Showcase and the WSL youtube channel. Will Tottenham be able to capitalise on chances to take points off this top team to help them gain some places in the league table?. Here is a preview of what to expect for this match.

Recent Performances:

Tottenham Hotspur, in their last 5 matches in all competitions, have had a great run of form, winning 3 games, drawing 1 and losing 1. Their only loss was against West Ham by 1 goal. In their last 5 league games, they have had the same run of form; 3 wins, a loss and a draw. They lost 0-3 to London rivals, Arsenal, which would have likely put a bad spell on the team in terms of morale, but however, since then, they have not lost a match in the WSL. In these games, they have only had 1 clean sheet, which may demonstrate a minor weakness in the team which can be exploited; in their most recent game, they went up 0-2 but then conceded two goals, luckily they got one back in added time. In their most recent match, they won 2-3 against bottom of the table, Crystal Palace. They took the lead early in the first twenty minutes with two goals from Bethany England, showing Spurs are able to gain pace early on in the match and use the lead to their advantage. This may be crucial in this tight match.

Manchester United have had a great run of form; in the league, they have won 4 out of their 5 matches, with the only loss being to top of the table, Chelsea by 1 goal. One of the biggest achievements has been beating Manchester City in the Manchester derby 2-4 away from home; however, they went on to lose 1-2 in the women's league cup against them. Despite this, it was a great morale booster, plus with their recent 3-0 win against Brighton, I’m sure the away side will be thinking comfortably about this match; keeping similar tactics. In all competitions, their biggest win was against West Brom, in which they won 7-0. United have only had 1 loss this season and 3 draws showing the great offensive and defensive talent of their squad; to keep them gaining consecutive points. Manchester United will be looking to take an early lead and sit comfortably during the first half of the match.

Players to look out for:

Spur’s key player is undoubtedly Bethany England, who has 8 goals and assists for the team, being their top goal scorer; she also averages around 3.2 shots per 90. She scored two in their last match and two against Everton in December. She is someone able to capitalise on mistakes made by defenders as she demonstrated when a wrong kick came towards her from Palace goalie, Milla-Maj Majasaari; unluckily for her, she saved the ball. Both of her goals against Palace came from headers by great. I would argue she is a set piece threat to other teams. In the Everton match, her first goal came from a rebound from a save, which she put into the net; also as Spurs’s regular penalty taker, she created a perfect penalty into the top corner. She is a calm and collected player, who in high pressure moments, makes her arguably a better player. Through these chances, she may be crucial, especially up against a side like United’s.

Another key player for Evallina Summanen and Maite Orez. Both of them have the most assists this season and their contributions to set pieces have been amazing. Orez has great pinpoint precision when it comes to crosses into the box, leading to goals scored, especially by England. While Summanen, with 2 goals as well, is a talented player; her goal against Villa in the Women’s League Cup was spectacular with a shot from about the halfway line! Her combined skills of shots and assists will be great for Spurs to win this match.

Ella Toone is United’s key player. Scoring a hatrick against rivals after nine matches without a goal and then continued to score another one the game after. Thus is even more special as the hattrick was against rivals,City. Despite only having four goals in games, her resilience to bounce back, especially after the year anniversary of her fathers passing and plus an injury in November last year, she has come a long way which undoubtedly makes her a committed member of the squad always ready to continue improving and bouncing back from adversity. I think this returning form will be a threat to Spurs.

Celin Bizet Ildhusoy has had the most assists this season and big chances created. In the last match against Brighton, she nutmegged a player and then scored a cracking long range goal. Her skills with assists and shots will be key against Spurs; I believe she and Summanen are similar in skill set.

The Statistical Predictions:

It is predicted that Manchester United will win due to their current form but as usual, you never know what will happen!

Spurs XI: Toone, Ildhusoy, Tullis-Joyce, Le Tisser, Turner, Terland, Miyazawa, Janssen, Galton, Riviere, Sandburg.

United XI: England, Summanen, Orez, Neville, Holdt, Raso, Kop, Csiki, Hunt, Bartrip, Nilden.

You can watch the match live on Sky Sports Football, Sky Showcase and the WSL youtube channel.

(all stats from fotmob.com)