Manchester United face Tottenham with Carrick under pressure after slow league start

Manchester United host Tottenham at Old Trafford on Saturday 10 October after both clubs opened the Premier League season poorly. United have five points from five matches under Michael Carrick; Spurs have two. The Guardian has called the fixture a must-win for Carrick, an assessment of the pressure on United rather than a stated club ultimatum.

The match comes immediately after the international break. United are 12th with one league victory, according to The Guardian, while Tottenham are bottom. Opta says United’s five-point return equals their lowest total after five Premier League games, also recorded in 2014-15. United have drawn twice and lost once in their past three league matches.

Why Manchester United’s start has raised the stakes

United’s most recent league game ended 1-1 at Fulham. Lisandro Martínez scored an own goal before Matheus Cunha’s late, deflected equaliser earned a point. The draw kept Carrick’s side winless across three league fixtures and left Saturday’s home match as an opportunity to halt that run before a demanding series of October games.

The Guardian identifies six United fixtures this month, including away games against Leeds, Atlético Madrid, Como and Chelsea. Its must-win description reflects that schedule and United’s early results. It does not establish that the club has set Carrick a deadline or that his job depends on one result.

What the attacking figures show

Opta ranks United first in the league for shots this season, with 113, and fourth for expected goals, with 9.89. Yet their average of 0.08 expected goals per non-penalty shot is the competition’s third-lowest. Opta reads that combination as a sign that many of United’s attempts have come from less promising positions. The figures describe chances created so far; they cannot predict Saturday’s finishing.

The Guardian reports that United have had more touches in opponents’ penalty areas than any other league side but remain the only team without a clean sheet. It says United and Tottenham each average 60% possession. For United, those measures underline the gap between spending time on the ball and controlling the scoreline.

Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick against Ipswich Town in United’s only league victory, but Opta says he has not scored since. Bryan Mbeumo offers a more encouraging record against this opponent: Opta credits him with seven goal involvements in his past six league appearances against Spurs, including goals in both meetings last season.

Tottenham arrive with two points from five games

Tottenham’s opening five matches have brought two points and a goal difference of minus six, their worst five-game start to a Premier League campaign, according to Opta. The Guardian places Roberto De Zerbi’s side at the foot of the table. Opta says Spurs scored their first two league goals of the season in a 3-2 defeat by Aston Villa immediately before the break.

Their difficulty extends beyond those five matches. Opta says Tottenham collected 18 Premier League points during 2026, fewer than any club continuously in the division over that period, after avoiding relegation only on the final day of the previous season. That record explains why the fixture matters to Spurs as well as to United, without settling which side is likelier to recover.

Who could be available at Old Trafford

Opta’s 9 October preview says Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo have trained and could feature for United. It lists Noussair Mazraoui as a doubt and Patrick Dorgu and Benjamin Sesko as unavailable. Carlos Baleba has recovered from an ankle injury and is set for a United debut, according to the same preview. Training and pre-match reports do not confirm Carrick’s eventual selection.

For Tottenham, Opta reports that Jan Paul van Hecke and Micky van de Ven are fit after both limped off while with the Netherlands. Pedro Porro, Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevski remained absent when its preview was published. Their reported status, like United’s, is a snapshot before the teams are named.

United won this fixture 2-0 last season through Mbeumo and Fernandes goals after Cristian Romero was sent off, ending a six-game league run without a win against Spurs. Opta also records 25 Tottenham away defeats against United in the Premier League. Those results provide history, but Saturday’s match will be decided by the teams that take the field.