LeeDixon

There was a lot to like about United last week, and they should be confident ahead of this Monday night fixture at Old Trafford. We obviously can't say the same about Spurs after the postponement of their game against Everton due to the riots, but the 5-0 win over Hearts was encouraging. Going to Tynecastle and Old Trafford are two very different tasks, however, and Tottenham's record at United is so bad that this has to go down as a home win.

Match Odds
Looking at previous results you can't really build a case for Tottenham in this fixture. When they go to Old Trafford, it ends in a home win.

In fact when they play United, they rarely get anything from the game. The Opta stats show it's been 20 Premier League matches, home and away, since Spurs defeated United, so it seems surprising that the home team have traded as high as 1.75 on Betfair and are as big as 1.69 as I write. It may be odds-on but, to me, that is a value price. I'm throwing everything in the United basket here with a straightforward back of United.

Correct Score
Some would say the only dark cloud for United ahead of this fixture is the state of the back four, but I don't buy into it. Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic will miss the game but Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are more than able deputies and, despite a few mistakes, I even like the goalkeeper!

I think Arsene Wenger went for both Jones and Smalling and my old manager is just about the best judge of young talent in the game. In particular, I really like Smalling. He reads the game well, can play a number of positions and has a good spring on him. His game belies his age really, he looks so comfortable on the ball. It's a big thing putting a Manchester United kit on and many players have fallen by the wayside, but it doesn't seem to have affected Smalling.

In fact, my faith in the United back four is so strong I'm going to play a couple of options in the Correct Score market - 2-0 and 3-0 - as I think Spurs will struggle to score.

First Goalscorer
One of the highlights of the first weekend was the return to form of Fernando Torres and Wayne Rooney was another big name in form during those first matches.

We did a feature about Wayne on Match of the Day and he looks like he's getting back to his very best. He will get plenty of goals this season, no doubt. I was also impressed by Ashley Young, who gave the team plenty of width and pace in attack. Both are lively candidates to break the deadlock at Old Trafford but I'll take the favourite as my bet - when Wayne is in the mood he can go on long goalscoring runs and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he found the back of the net again on Monday.

Recommended Bets
Back Manchester United to win @ 1.69
Back United to win 2-0 @ 10.0 and 3-0 @ 17.0
Back Wayne Rooney to score first @ 5.0

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