FA Cup / Alsy / 26 January 2008 /

Morgan in the Driving Seat - Allsy tells us why Man United can't afford to be complacent against an ever-improving Spurs

All of a sudden Tottenham's FA Cup visit to Old Trafford this Sunday looks pretty appetising. As a neutral observer, their recent Carling Cup defeat of Arsenal was an absolute classic. Both teams passed the ball well but, for once, Spurs managed to embarrass their North London rivals with swift and precise forward play. Confidence is high and Spurs fans will feel bullish about facing off against the Premiership leaders... and why not?

Manchester at [1.54] will of course be huge favourites to progress to the 5th round but Alex Ferguson will not assume victory. In football things can change quickly. Last year Spurs were certainly captivating but for all the wrong reasons. On the pitch, Martin Jol's team transformed from sublime to ridiculous with some speed while the off-pitch drama surrounding the club was nothing short of farcical.

Football fans were gripped as the inevitable car-crash drew ever closer. Spurs fans were understandably bewildered as their own executives seemed intent on making Newcastle FC look stable and progressive in comparison.

In the wreckage that followed Jol was sacked with Spurs near the foot of the Premiership table but all those painful memories were washed away after sticking five past the hated Gunners. Somewhere in the capital Chas 'n' Dave are penning another Wembley classic but a victory of Manchester United would make every Spurs fan dare to dream of another Wembley final.

So how much can Spurs take from their improved form and will they go to Old Trafford aiming for a replay? Juande Ramos will prepare for a defensive examination but Tottenham will justifiably feel that they will create chances against last year's finalists.

The appointment of the Spaniard seems to be paying dividends with Spurs' defensive frailties diminishing by the week. He's had a look at most of his squad and seems to have instilled a new sense of purpose to their play. Berbatov and Keane are usually impressive but who knew that Jenas, Lee and Malbranque could be so consistently effective?

Forget Arsene Wenger's predictably ungracious post-match comments, a team featuring Sagna, Gallas, Hoyte (53 appearances for Arsenal), Gilberto, Fabregas and Hleb is hardly second-rate while youngsters like Traore, Bendtner and Diaby are among the best anywhere in the Premiership. On the night Spurs were simply sharper in defense and slicker in attack.

You can get excellent odds on Spurs winning the tie at [7.2]. Much will depend on the form of Ledley King, whose return to fitness is as important as the arrival of Ramos. Watching him play against Chelsea earlier in the month reminded everyone of his talent when truly fit. Even though they lost 2-0, his performance was assured and inspiring.

I suspect that United will have too much firepower for Spurs but if the Londoners play well, and their luck holds, the draw [4.4] is s decent outside bet and definitely more realistic than a Spurs clean sheet which is [8.8]. Conversely, the last time that United conceded a goal at home was to Everton just before Christmas but such is the scoring potency of Keane and Berbatov (30 goals between them this season including 19 Premiership strikes) that a clean sheet for United at [1.51] is not too generous.

Ferguson is no Benitez but you suspect he's looking for games where he can rest his key attacker Ronaldo. On paper he shouldn't worry with Rooney, Tevez and Saha but it would be a risk to rest his star man against a team in the ascendancy.

Still fighting on three fronts, Ferguson may have to play Ronaldo more than he'd like this season but considering Wenger's team choice earlier in the week he's had plenty of chance to spy the potential banana skin ahead. I predict Ronaldo will start and score in a narrow 1-0 [10] home victory.

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