The fixtures come thick and fast during the festive season in the Premier League, the teams rarely get a break and right after their boxing day fixtures they are playing again in a couple of days. On Sunday, Manchester United take on Tottenham at White Hart Lane in what should be a cracker of a game, not only does this game have a historical precedent of goals and drama, both teams come into the game with form.
Manchester United have won 7 and drawn 1 in their last 8 games while Spurs have won 3 on the trot and have enigmatic striker, not a joke, Harry Kane in fine form with the Englishman scoring his 15th goal of the season in their last game against Leicester.
With these two teams going to take each other on, we look at 3 key battles which can decide the fate of the game.
1. Harry Kane vs. Phil Jones
While Louis Van Gaal continues playing with 3 centre backs at the back, it was a good omen to see Phil Jones fit and raring to go for United. Granted, Jones did make a mistake or two but him getting quality minutes on the field is a big bonus for United. Jones will be up against one of the in form strikers in the Premier League, Harry Kane has scored 15 goals this season for Spurs and is repaying the faith put in him by Pochettino.
Kane seems to be able to do it all, heading to scoring from his feet, right now there may not be a better English striker than him and Austin from QPR. The battle between Kane and Jones will be something to look out for in the game.
2. Christian Eriksen vs. Wayne Rooney
Eriksen and Rooney probably won’t go head to head and take each other on but the player who does his best for their club on the day could hold the key of creativity for their team. Rooney was played in a deeper midfield position by Van Gaal against Newcastle and he shone by scoring a brace and assisting Van Persie for the third.
Eriksen seems to be the man who gets the late winners for Spurs, he did so again against Leicester when he scored in the 71st minute to hand Tottenham a tough 2-1 win away from home, and Spurs will be hoping that Eriksen does shine against a club which always seem to up their game when they take on Tottenham.
3. Jan Vertonghen vs. Robin Van Persie
Vertonghen has steadily become Tottenham’s best defender, although he was lucky to escape giving away a penalty against Leicester late on, he has grown into one of the best defenders and now doesn’t play as a right back but in his preferred centre back role.
Van Persie has started playing like the old Robin Van Persie who would be a threat to defences, while Rooney won the plaudits for his display against Newcastle; Van Persie took his chance really well to score the third goal for United. It will be quite a matchup to see which player comes out on top from this battle, keeping Van Persie quiet could be one of the keys to victory.