Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson is expecting Manchester United and Spurs to share the spoils when the two teams face each other on Sunday evening.

The Red Devils head into the game off the back of two disappointing draws against Crystal Palace and FC Twente and, writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson says manager Erik ten Hag really needs a positive result:

“This is a huge game for both teams. Tottenham play a dangerous highline and Manchester United are not great at the back, so it’s a very open football match. I expect there will be loads of goals in this one too.”

“It’s hard to point out what’s exactly going wrong at Manchester United at the moment. But I can tell you, something’s definitely not right. They have to get back into the top four, that should be like bread and butter for a club of this stature.”

“It was the perfect game against Twente for them to get a win and take some pressure off themselves. But look at how it went, they failed to win despite taking the lead! If they lose to Tottenham on Sunday, it’s a massive problem for United. Ten Hag has to win this game for sure, nothing else would do for them.”

What is Merson’s prediction?

The former Arsenal midfielder has gone for a 2-2 draw, which is not a scoreline that will please United fans, especially as their team are at home.

Dropping more points would put ten Hag’s side even further behind those at the top of the table. They currently sit 11th after 5 games played on 7 points.

United team news ahead of the Tottenham fixture

The Manchester club currently have just three players on the treatment table. Luke Shaw remains on the sidelines with a calf injury, but the left-back is set to make his comeback soon.

Tyrell Malacia (knee) is in team training but, after being out for so long, it could be after the next international break before we see him play. Leny Yoro (broken metatarsal) is not expected to return before November.

Find out who is in Manchester United’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here