Man Utd preview

This weekend's fixture finds two teams enjoying contrasting starts to the season, aswell as in their summer transfer activity. Whilst Spurs have made no less than six first team signings, Manchester United's major signings have been limited to the drawn out pusuit of Michael Carrick, who will face his old club for the first time at Old Trafford on Saturday. The hole left by Carrick's departure goes someway to explaining Spurs' travails in the opening three games. United on the other hand have made an impressive start which has to some extent placated their fans, who would be otherwise enraged by a lack of ambition in the transfer market.

Spurs will hope to be bolstered by the return of Ledley King following a knee injury, but are likely to be missing Berbatov who picked up a ligament strain whilst on duty with Bulgaria. That should mean an immediate return to the starting line up for Mido, who has revealed in the Egyptian press that Spurs' large €12million bid forced Roma's hand regarding his sale. The obvious strike partner for the target man is Keane, who should be asked by Jol to drop deep and limit Carrick's influence on the game.

Another new signing, Pascal Chimbonda, should take his place at rightback assuming he shakes off a slight knock on his calf. Spurs fans will be hoping for a better performance from the Frenchman than he managed on his last visit to Old Trafford, or indeed in the Carling Cup final against United, where he was poor defensively.

The midfield is likely to be unchanged, despite their performance against Everton, which means more bench time for Zokora. There is not a chance in hell of Jol dropping Davids for a game as big as this one, and Jenas hasn't been left out of the team when fit since he joined the club. Tainio and Lennon remain the only viable options on the flanks at present with new recruit Steed Malbranque having undergone a hernia operation this week that will sideline him for two months.

Expected team:

-------------------Robinson--------------------
Chimbonda--Dawson--King--A.Ekotto
Lennon----Jenas------Davids-----Tainio
--------------Keane--------Mido--------------