One Mou to rule them all,
one Mou to grind them,
One Mou to drain them all
and in the boredom bind them.
The return of The Special One to English football have been characterized by downward slopes. The second spell at Chelsea and the patch at Manchester United had some initial auspicious moments but the glimpses of the magic touch soon faded. At Tottenham, the mojo isn't really working anymore. But still - the defensive mindset never dies, and the faced shots and shots on target as well as the conceded goals this season have decreased at Spurs under Mourinho.
Despite the slump in performance, Tottenham is still in the race for European cup games, trailing Manchester United at the Europa League spot by 4 points.
Manchester United is defending the Europa League spot as well as chasing a Champions League spot 3 points above.
On Friday, the two teams clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and I think we'll see a tense and rather low scoring game.
Examine the Premier League table, upcoming fixtures and lots of other stats here!
Statistics
It's hard to say what impact such a gap as the Covid-19 lockdown might have on football, but there are a few findings from the restart of the German Bundesliga that might have some application on the restart of the Premier League as well:
Before the break, there was on average 3.25 goals scored per game in the Bundesliga.
After the break, there has been on average 3.02 goals scored per game in the Bundesliga.
Tottenham
There has been on average 3.00 goals scored in Tottenham's home games so far in the league this season, 57% of the home games adding up over 2.5 goals.
However; when facing top 6 teams at home, there's been on average 2.50 goals scored and when facing top half teams at home 67% of the games have added up under 2.5 goals:
Only 6 teams display a better save percentage than Tottenham so far this season, Hugo Lloris and Paulo Gazzaniga saving some 73% of the faced shots on target.
Manchester United
There has been on average 2.36 goals scored in Manchester United's away games so far in the league this season, 79% of the home games adding up under 2.5 goals.
When facing top half teams on the road, there's been on average 2.71 goals scored and 71% of the games have added up under 2.5 goals:
Only 7 teams display a better save percentage than Manchester United so far this season, David de Gea saving some 71% of the faced shots on target.
Check out more Premier League stats here!
Conclusion & Betting Tips
Both teams tend to play out rather low scoring games when facing other teams from the top half of the table.
For what it's worth: 3 of the 5 most recent league games between the two teams in London have seen less than 2.5 goals, the other 2 games adding up exact 3 goals (on average 1.8 goals scored per game).
Betting Tip: Under 2.75 Goals.
Stake at 5/10 units.
Learn more about what a unit is.
Check out more odds on Tottenham Hotspur - Manchester United here!
Feel free to browse more betting tips here and also check out my complete spreadsheet for English Football here.
