Manchester United welcome Tottenham to Old Trafford with the Red Devils’ reputation in tatters. It’s been a difficult season for the red half of Manchester but their defeat to Premier League topping Man City last weekend was a stark reminder of the gulf between the two clubs.
Will Ralf Rangnick manage to get Man Utd back on track, or will Antonio Conte’s Spurs put up another big performance after a demolition job against Everton? Don’t miss our Manchester Utd vs. Tottenham Hotspur picks and predictions for Saturday, February 12.
Manchester United vs Tottenham match odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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Manchester United vs Tottenham betting tips
Predictions made on 3/10/2022 at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Manchester United vs Tottenham game info
• Location: Old Trafford, Manchester, UK
• Date: Saturday, March 12, 2022
• Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
• TV: Peacock Premium, fubo TV, Sling Blue, Hulu+
Manchester United vs Tottenham betting preview
Weather
The weather in Manchester on Saturday is likely to fit the stereotype with heavy rain and clouds expected for the majority of the day. There’s a chance that the rain lifts and sun comes out when the game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. local time, with temperatures likely to be around 50 degrees.
Injuries
Manchester United: Mason Greenwood RW (Out), Luke Shaw LB (Questionable), Raphael Varane CB (Questionable).
Tottenham: Oliver skipp DM (Out), Japhet Tanganga CB (Out).
Manchester United vs Tottenham predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Side analysis
Saturday’s final Premier League match sees Manchester United welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford. It gives the Man Utd faithful a chance to see first-hand the work that Antonio Conte has done on Spurs, and it might make them more upset that the club didn’t sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sooner and appoint the Italian.
Neither team is really where they want to be this season, and both have changed managers since the start of the campaign. When Man Utd signed Cristiano Ronaldo, along with Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho, it was supposed to propel them into the title race. They now sit outside of the Top 4 and will be some way behind Arsenal if the Gooners win their games in hand.
Spurs appointed Conte after canning Nuno Espirito Santo, and the fanbase had huge expectations following successes at Chelsea and Inter Milan in the past few years. It hasn’t been easy going for Conte at Spurs, and only a month ago it looked like he was in crisis. But there have been green shoots of improvements, especially following the end of the January transfer window, with a number of new signings looking like huge additions.
Both teams come into this game after shocking results. On Sunday, Man Utd lost their derby game to the current Champions and Premier League leaders, Man City, 4-1, with the manner of the result being of real concern. The following day saw Spurs go nuclear, thrashing Everton 5-0 — if they beat United it’ll be three wins on the bounce.
The appointment of Ralf Rangnick for Man Utd was only ever going to be temporary, with the German moving upstairs at the end of the season. That said, we expected more than this, and the team have been very hit-or-miss under his stewardship. There is real quality in the squad, but that’s matched with the large amounts of deadwood and players who aren’t interested in being there.
The club needs an ideologue in the vein of Rangnick, but by only appointing him as an interim coach it cut down his authority from day one, especially when he needs a squad capable of fulfilling his style. Much of the criticism after the derby defeat failed to take account of the first half, where Man Utd played fairly well and did a good job stopping City for the most part. The issue is the attitude displayed in the second half and, in particular, after the third goal. The players were walking, barely putting in any effort and were, frankly, an embarrassment.
On their day, this Man Utd can click and they can’t be ruled out, but that second-half performance outlined some real issues. They no longer look confident in their ability and there are clear fractures in the squad making the disharmony very evident. With those problems at play, it makes Spurs a great bet, especially at odds of +240.
Spurs are getting hot at the right time, and unlike United, they’ll be full of confidence after they dominated Everton in every statistical category. We know from Conte’s last trip to Manchester, against City, that he’s capable of a tactical masterclass.
Conte has a great record against United, winning four of his past six against the Red Devils, and with his team starting to flourish in his favored 3-4-3 formation, it feels like there’s real value to be had in backing Spurs to win.
Prediction: Spurs (+240)
Over/Under analysis
This is an odd one because if you look at season-long trends, the Under would be the way to go. Across the season, United have had low-scoring games at home with higher-scoring games on the road. When you look at some of their more recent games, you can see that has changed slightly.
Two of Spurs’ past three games have had at least four goals, and the attack is really starting to gel with Harry Kane getting back to the form that made him one of the world’s best strikers.
The derby defeat was dreadful for United, but they’ve been bad defensively of late, allowing goals in six of their past eight games, including conceding to relegation strugglers like Burnley and Leeds and even Championship team Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.
With United struggling for confidence and Spurs full to the brim with it, we can expect goals — back Over 2.5.
Prediction: Over 2.5 Goals (-138)
Best bet
Conte seems to have worked magic in the January transfer window with Rodrigo Bentancur looking good, but it’s Dejan Kulusevski who looks like the real star. The 21-year-old Swede arrived from Juventus on loan with an obligation to buy, and has been a revelation.
There’s already no doubt that the North London club will take the option to make the deal permanent, and a number of other clubs in Europe will be disappointed that they didn’t try and sign him.
Joining Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min in Spurs’ front three, he is an improvement on Lucas Moura and finally gives the team a well-balanced attack who can each hurt you. In six games Premier League games for Spurs, two from the bench, he’s scored two goals and registered three assists.
United’s fullbacks have been a real issue this season. It’s a matchup that Kulusevski will relish, and I love the +350 odds on him adding another goal to his tally.
Pick: Dejan Kulusevski to score (+350)
