Tottenham vs Manchester United – Can Ange Postecoglou carve out a beautiful night for Tottenham in Bilbao amid injury problems?

But going to Bilbao is going to come with a lot of possible hurdles given the injury concerns that the Australian head coach will be facing in the buildup to the game. But that doesn’t change the fact that he will arrive into the game with the same intention – trying to blow United’s doors off early by trying to impose tempo and dare the opponent to survive. And Tottenham don’t adjust; they dare. But this isn’t Southampton or Ipswich that they’re daring — it’s Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United, who are stricter exactly for this sort of game. So for Ange, the chaos must have a structure in itself for the Lilywhites – if that is to work out. For Postecoglou, the chaos must be more surgical.

Tottenham vs Manchester United – Can Ange all out attack Amorim’s structure?

With Maddison out, I am expecting Ange to put out a 4-2-3-1 side with a pivot assisting the front line, ensuring some balance when the Lilywhites tend to attack. Swede ace Kulusevski will come inside in the central role, and while it’s a big downgrade in passing abilities of the side, there is a huge upside in terms of work rate. And then the build of the side suddenly becomes more vertical, more reactive, and paradoxically, more dangerous when it comes to transition-like situations.

So with no Maddison, I am expecting the penetration to come through the morneyhose wide channels. The overloads of Porro alongside Johnson on the right and Udogie with Tel/Son on the left. Here the idea is to try and force United’s wing-backs back and try to pin Bruno deeper and wider. Then you can try to isolate your wingers in inside channels, and then it will suddenly be about one moment.

Ange could also try to play on the front foot. Ensure his side are instructed to press high to the United’s five men in the first and second phases (defensive line). So you are trying to catch up under pressure (here the objective is not to win the ball but to trigger mistakes), so a fast pass to someone like Casemiro can trigger poor clearance, and from there Tottenham can hit on second balls for the likes of Bentancur and Kulusevski, who will be trying to flood central space. So I am expecting the North Londoners to have early chances (but then you also have to expect early exposure).

Tottenham can also try to switch into a cross-volume setup in the final minutes where the game will be about who controls rebounds and chaos (and not systems).

But in all the offensive chaos, Spurs have to remember that Romero and Porro are naturally aggressive, and if Garnacho manages to beat Porro early, Romero will have to chase, and that creates a straight-line channel for Bruno to play Hojlund in. Same on the other flank: if Udogie is caught high and Dalot is good with offensive carries and if Tottenham are exposed early on that flank, then the North Londoners will suddenly be on the back foot. We need to understand that without Maddison and Bergvall, tempo control will be rather difficult.

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Author Opinion

We have seen along the season that Tottenham don’t have that patience to wait, and honestly, with how Ange Postecoglou plays, I don’t think he wants it either. I am expecting the Australian to push his team to take the game in the first 25 minutes, and if they don’t, the North Londoners will definitely keep trying until something happens for better or worse.