Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson has had his say on who he thinks will win the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Last time out, Lawrenson correctly predicted that Spurs would beat Bournemouth but said the score would be 2-0, when it ended up as a 3-2 victory for the North London side (BBC).
After nearly a year to the day in which he was sacked by Manchester United (BBC), Jose Mourinho will return to Old Trafford for the first time in the opposition dug out.
The Portuguese was brought in to turn around Tottenham’s fortunes after Mauricio Pochettino experienced a difficult start to the campaign which saw the Champions League finalists drop to fourteenth place in the Premier League table.
After winning successive top flight matches, Mourinho has helped Spurs climb to fifth in the table.
Lawrenson has tipped Tottenham to come away from Manchester with all three points
He told BBC Sport: “Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho’s return to Old Trafford, almost 12 months after he was sacked, is going to be fascinating.
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“I am not bothered about the reception he gets from the Manchester United fans, I want to see what team he picks – because that will tell us whether he thinks he can go there and win, or whether he is thinking “let’s not lose”.
“With Jose, it is usually the latter more often than the former but I am actually going to go for a Spurs win.
“Mourinho has not changed a massive amount technically or tactically in his short time in charge, but he is a really good man-manager. That’s how he has got Dele Alli playing again, for starters.
“Another reason I’m backing Spurs is the way United are playing.
“United’s £89m midfielder Paul Pogba is close to returning from his ankle injury, but I don’t think he is going to come back and be their saviour – he is more likely to come back and want to clear off.
“I have been tipping United to win more often than not in the past few weeks because they have got some outstanding players, and I have been expecting something to click.
“But the way the team is playing doesn’t reflect the ability of the players within it, which is a big problem for United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to sort out.
“Lawro’s prediction: 0-2.”
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