Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United Prediction: Goals galore in Carabao Cup tie

The fourth and final Carabao Cup quarter-final tie takes place in north London on Thursday (20:00, Sky Sports Main Event) as Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Read on for my Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of the first-ever managerial meeting between Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim.

Team News

Tottenham Hotspur's treatment room still features Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison, while Destiny Udogie is a doubt for Thursday's cup tie after being substituted in the 28th minute of last Sunday's 5-0 win at Southampton.

Rodrigo Bentancur will serve the sixth of his seven-game suspension but Yves Bissouma is available for selection following his Premier League ban and is set to start in midfield.

Brennan Johnson, Pedro Perro, Timo Werner, Alfie Dorrington and Will Lankshear could all start after coming on as substitutes at St Mary's Stadium.

Football Odds

Manchester United lost Mason Mount to injury in the first 14 minutes of Sunday's Manchester derby and the 25-year-old will miss out on Thursday alongside Luke Shaw.

Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were left out of the squad for the Red Devils' 2-1 victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium and it remains to be seen whether they will be welcomed back into contention this week by Amorim, particularly Rashford who is reportedly up for sale in January.

Leny Yoro, Casemiro, Antony and Joshua Zirkzee are among those who could start at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte and Rasmus Hojlund dropping down to the bench.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United Odds

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Tottenham are 13/10 to triumph inside regulation time on Thursday, giving Postecoglou's side an implied win probability of 43.5%, while Man United are 9/5, or a 35.7% chance, to do the same.

The draw, which would send the tie to a penalty shootout, can be backed at 11/4, and if you fancy a repeat of the 3-0 scoreline in Spurs' favour the last time these teams met, at Old Trafford on September 29, it's 25/1.

Total Goals - Over 3.5 @ 1/1

Only Liverpool (13) and Arsenal (15) have conceded fewer Premier League goals than Spurs and Man United (both 19 - level with Nottingham Forest and Chelsea) this season, yet it's hard to shake off the feeling that these teams are vulnerable defensively.

Spurs did concede four times in their last home game, losing 4-3 to Chelsea on December 8, and last Sunday's clean sheet at St Mary's ended a run of five matches without one.

Meanwhile, Man United have only recorded one shutout in seven games under Amorim, and that was at Old Trafford against lowly Everton (4-0) on December 1. The Red Devils have conceded at least twice on three occasions under their new Portuguese boss, beating Bodo/Glimt 3-2 and losing to Arsenal (2-0) and Nottingham Forest (2-3).

Three of United's seven matches under Amorim have finished with four or more goals while their most recent two, away to Viktoria Plzen (1-2) and Man City (1-2), have fallen just short at three strikes.

Spurs struck five times past Southampton last Sunday and were involved in a seven-goal thriller against Chelsea earlier this month, so their games don't usually lack for goals or entertainment; in fact, 41.7 per cent (10) of their 24 matches in all competitions have seen over 3.5 total goals, including their last-16 tie with Man City (0-4) in this very competition.

There were three goals scored in the last meeting between these two teams in September, albeit United were a man down from the 42nd minute and were managed by Amorim's hapless predecessor, Erik ten Hag.

Still, the first head-to-head between these sides in January, again at Old Trafford, saw four goals shared as they drew 2-2 in the Premier League, a scoreline also seen at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the previous year.

I think we could be in for another four goals - at least - on Thursday, with Spurs and Man United both looking at this competition with a great degree of interest given the former's desperation for a trophy and the latter's recent appointment of Amorim, who will be desperate to get a major honour under his belt as soon as possible.

As such, if one side is losing, I expect the other to go all out for an equaliser, and that should make this an end-to-end game in north London.

Bet Builder - Brennan Johnson (TOT) 1+ Shots on Target, Pedro Porro (TOT) 1+ Shots, Joshua Zirkzee (MUN) 2+ Shots, Casemiro (MUN) 1+ Shots @ 4/1

Spurs and Wales winger Johnson is now four matches without a goal and was only brought on as a second-half substitute at St Mary's last time out - a far cry from earlier in the season when he scored in seven straight games for club and country, while he also struck in four consecutive contests before blanking against AFC Bournemouth on December 5.

Given he was only afforded 45 minutes on Sunday, I'm expecting the 23-year-old to start on Thursday - and that should mean a healthy amount of game time against Man United, who he opened the scoring against in September's meeting.

Johnson is averaging 0.7 shots on target per game in this season's Premier League but, despite only of his two appearances in the Carabao Cup coming as a starter, he is averaging 1.5 shots on target in this competition, scoring against Coventry City before seeing two efforts saved by Man City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.

The Nottingham Forest Academy graduate scored and hit the post against United a few months ago and should be able to at least direct an effort on target this Thursday.

Johnson could start at right-wing and he may be supported down that side by Porro, who was left out of the starting XI against the Saints but was introduced in the first half following Udogie's injury. I'm expecting the Spaniard to start against the Red Devils and given he averages 1.6 shots per game in the Premier League and 2.2 shots per game in the Uefa Europa League, he should be good for one effort on Thursday.

The 25-year-old had a shot saved by United number one Andre Onana in their Premier League meeting at Old Trafford earlier this season, as well as in their top-flight fixture at the same venue in 2023/24, while he hit the post the last time these two teams met at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Moving on to the visitors, Zirkzee will be eyeing this cup tie as an opportunity to impress Amorim, who seems to have settled on Hojlund as his number one centre-forward for the time being.

Zirzkee has only started one Premier League game under the new manager, against Everton earlier this month, but did score with both of his efforts in that win.

The Dutchman only lasted the first half of United's defeat to Spurs in September but saw his only shot saved by Vicario and is averaging 2.5 shots per game in the Carabao Cup, taking three shots against Barnsley and two against Leicester City. I think he can register a couple of shots on Thursday if given an hour on the pitch.

Completing this shots/shots on target Bet Builder is United midfielder Casemiro, who didn't feature in the Manchester derby but started and shot once in his side's Uefa Europa League win over Plzen in the Czech Republic last Thursday. The Brazilian is averaging 1.8 shots per game in Europe this season, 1.2 shots per game in the Premier League, and 3.5 shots per game in the Carabao Cup, so one effort is surely within range if he starts in north London.

Offers

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We will be Top Price on Tottenham to beat Man United with selected bookmakers using Oddschecker for the comparison. (Available from 09:30 Thursday 19/12)

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