Tottenham Vs Manchester United

Preview
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson believes Tottenham Hotspur’s Gareth Bale still has a long way to go before he can be compared to Ryan Giggs, ahead of Sunday’s encounter between the sides.
Bale is Giggs’ heir in the Wales national side and the fleet-footed left-winger has already scored nine league goals this season, including a fine individual effort in Spurs’ 3-2 win at Old Trafford in September.
Giggs, however, had already accumulated three league titles, two FA Cups and a League Cup by the time he was Bale’s age, and Ferguson believes the Giggs of the early Premier League years had no equal.
“It is all opinions I suppose,” Ferguson said. “The boy is a good player. But Ryan Giggs at 23? I don’t think there was anyone better.”
Now 39, Giggs produced another age-defying display in the mid-week FA Cup win over West Ham United, which saw Wayne Rooney mark his return from injury with a goal before blazing a second-half penalty over the crossbar.
United have now missed five penalties this season, while Rooney’s personal career tally of unsuccessful attempts from 12 yards stands at 10.
Robin van Persie is expected to return to United’s starting line-up at Spurs and with Ferguson refusing to back Rooney to continue taking spot-kicks, the Dutchman could step into the breach.
“I have not made a decision about that,” Ferguson said.
“We don’t want to be missing penalties. It is a regular opportunity. But it is not something I want to discuss.”
United’s lead at the league summit will be whittled down to four points if second-place Manchester City defeat Fulham on Saturday, and in Tottenham they face opponents who have lost just once in 13 matches.
The two sides are the only teams in the division to have avoided defeat in their last six games, although United will take heart from the fact that they have not lost at White Hart Lane since a 3-1 reverse in May 2001.
Ferguson is expected to make several changes to the side that faced West Ham, but Jonny Evans and Ashley Young remain unavailable through injury and Darren Fletcher has been ruled out for the rest of the campaign.
Spurs, meanwhile, could hand a first league start of the season to central midfielder Scott Parker after Brazilian Sandro was ruled out for the rest of the campaign with a knee ligament injury.
And with Emmanuel Adebayor now gearing up for the Africa Cup of Nations with Togo, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has only one true striker at his disposal in the form of Jermain Defoe.
Despite the blow of losing Sandro, Villas-Boas says the club are not looking to sign a replacement in the January transfer window.
“The only thing we have done at the moment is hold on to our midfielders, the ones who are here,” Villas-Boas said.
“We have put on hold the movement of Jake Livermore’s possible loan to another club. It is not out of the question, I think we are still pretty happy with what we have.”
Tottenham go into the weekend just two points behind third-place Chelsea, who drew 2-2 at home to Southampton in mid-week.
However, despite having seen his side prevail at Old Trafford, Villas-Boas believes United will be a very different prospect on Sunday.
“A lot of time has gone by in between,” he said.
“I think it was the fifth or sixth game of the season and United had already lost to Everton and lost to us at home.
“From then on they have been on a formidable run and they sit now with one more point than the league leaders last season, who were Man City.
“The run of form is amazing. It is going to be a completely different game.”

Venue White Hart Lane, Sunday 4pm
Tickets Here
Last season Tottenham 1 Man Utd 3
Referee Chris Foy
This season’s matches 14 Y22, R0, 1.57 cards per game
Odds Tottenham 2-1 Man Utd 11-8 Draw 12-5

Tottenham
Subs from Friedel, Gomes, Assou-Ekotto, Caulker, Carroll, Huddlestone, Livermore, Townsend, Sigurdsson, Falqué
Doubtful None
Injured Gallas (calf, 26 Jan), Kaboul (knee, Feb), Sandro (knee, Aug)
Unavailable Adebayor (international duty)
Suspended None
Form guide DWWWDW
Disciplinary record Y32 R2
Leading scorer Defoe 10
Manchester United
Subs from Lindegaard, Johnstone, Buttner, Powell, Macheda, Hernández, Jones, Smalling, Scholes, Welbeck, Ferdinand, Kagawa, Anderson, Nani, Giggs
Doubtful Vidic (concussion)
Injured Evans (hamstring, 26 Jan), Fletcher (ulcerative colitis, Aug)
Suspended None
Form guide WWWWDW
Disciplinary record Y36 R0
Leading scorer Van Persie 17
STAT-ATTACK
Head-to-head
Tottenham beat Manchester United for the first time in 27 attempts in September’s reverse fixture, ending their 23-year wait for a victory at Old Trafford with a 3-2 league win. United had won 20 and drawn six of the previous 26 meetings in all competitions.
Spurs last won this fixture at White Hart Lane in May 2001, when Willem Korsten scored twice in a 3-1 Premier League victory. United veterans Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes both started that match, the latter scoring.
Tottenham have not won this fixture home and away in the same season since 1989-90.
Tottenham
Spurs are unbeaten in their last six league matches, equalling their longest run without defeat under Andre Villas-Boas. They have won seven and lost only one of their last 10 league fixtures.
They have won seven and drawn one of their eight home matches in all competitions since a 1-0 defeat by Wigan at White Hart Lane.
The Lillywhites have only conceded seven first-half goals – fewer than any other Premier League club.
Tottenham have dropped 16 points from winning positions, the fourth worst record in the division ahead of the weekend matches.
Fourteen-goal leading scorer Jermain Defoe has only scored once in his last seven appearances.
Aaron Lennon could make his 200th career league start.
Manchester United
The league leaders now have 55 points from 22 Premier League matches, the club’s highest-ever tally at this stage of a top-flight season. Jose Mourinho’s 2005-06 Chelsea team are the only side in the Premier League era to fare better, having gained 61 points from their first 22 games.
United’s record of 18 wins from the opening 22 games has only been matched or bettered on four occasions: Preston (18 wins) in 1888-89, Sunderland (19 wins) in 1891-92, Tottenham (19 wins) in 1960-61 and Chelsea (20 wins) in 2005-06.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have won nine of their last 10 league games, earning 28 points out of 30.
They have won eight league matches from losing positions, recovering an unrivalled 24 points.
They have the most different scorers in the Premier League this season (16).
However, they have conceded 29 goals – more than nine other sides. The most goals they have conceded in a full Premier League season is 45 in the 1999-2000 title-winning campaign.
Robin van Persie has scored 65 goals in 77 league appearances since January 2011, and nine in his last nine league games. United have won all 14 league matches in which van Persie has scored.
Ryan Giggs awaits his 650th league appearance for Manchester United.