- United aiming for four in a row
- Conte's Old Trafford struggles
- Kane v Rashford
- Ronaldo's eight goals v Spurs in the Premier League
- Money back as a free bet on the Betfair Exchange if both teams fail to score!
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are both coming off weekend clean sheets, but there will be differing levels of positivity around the two midweek opponents.
Spurs remained in touch at the top, working hard for their 2-0 victory over Everton and benefiting from a Jordan Pickford error to find a breakthrough. It was a less eventful weekend for United, though, with Erik ten Hag's side forced to settle for a goalless draw against Newcastle United at Old Trafford.
These two teams are separated by seven points going into Wednesday's game in the north-west, though Antonio Conte's visitors have played a game more.
Last season's gap was 13 points, as Spurs claimed a top-four spot and United fell away towards the end of the season, and this game could give an idea of how close the teams are to one another.
Four in a row?
United won their last three league matches against Spurs, including a 3-2 victory last season given to them by a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick.
However, they earned just eight points from nine games after that win to see their top-four hopes fizzle out.
Those three victories came against three different Spurs managers, and each saw the Red Devils score three times - 3-1 against José Mourinho, 3-0 against Nuno Espiríto Santo and 3-2 against Conte.
They haven't won four in a row in more than a decade, with the last such run coming thanks to goals from Nemanja Vidić and Nani in an October 2010 triumph.
If Spurs want to avert a repeat, manager Conte will need to do something he has never done before, and avoid defeat at Old Trafford.
United handed Conte one of just five league defeats during his title-winning campaign with Chelsea in 2016-17, while a Jesse Lingard winner helped United come from behind against the Italian's Blues side the following season.
BTTS on the Betfair Exchange
Wednesday night's match at Old Trafford is the biggest game of the midweek round, and Betfair are responding with another offer over on the Exchange.
Despite both teams failing to score last Friday between Brentford v Brighton in our last offering - although check the xG numbers to sense our dissapointment - we are looking at the same market again here.
However, should either side fail to net at Old Trafford, you can get your money back as a free bet - not bad with two more Premier League games the following day on Thursday.
Three of the last four of these selections have landed, and are always backed up by the numbers - so let's have a look.
Between their 19 Premier League games combined so far, 60 goals have been scored at just over three per game - however, the interesting part here is that both Man Utd (33%) and Spurs (40%) having a less than half clean sheet ratio.
Indeed, both teams have scored in five of the last six league meetings, with Spurs (22) the third highest scoring side in the division so far.
Antonio Conte has struggled at Old Trafford however throughout his career, losing on all three of his visits. He and Spurs will be looking to alter that narrative, but have to be wary that the Red Devils have netted in eight of their last nine Premier League games at home.
An all-England battle
Spurs and United both have in-form England internationals leading the line, and in both cases there is an element of surprise.
Harry Kane has made a faster start to the season than he tends to do at club level, while Marcus Rashford has already scored as many goals in all competitions as he did in all of last season.
Kane has scored in his last five league games, and six in seven for club and country including his effort in England's 3-3 draw with Germany in September. Not only is that the 29-year-old's longest ever Premier League scoring streak, but he is one away from becoming the first ever Tottenham player to go six for six.
As for Rashford, three goals and two assists in nine matches leaves him just one shy of his return of four goals and two games in the league last term (he has already matched that return of five goals in all competitions).
The 24-year-old was on target away at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season, and three of his five goals last term came in the month of October.
Past vs present
The game will be a clash of recent history against longer-term records. Spurs will be hoping the former is the pattern they can rely on to serve them well, with Conte's team losing just one of their last 16 in the league - they have earned 37 points in that period, whereas United's last 16 games have brought just 23.
Go back further, though, and you'll find Spurs have lost more Premier League games against United than against any other team.
Ronaldo has played a part in a number of those results, too, and the Portugal international's eight goals against the London side are more than he has managed against any other opponent in the division.
The 37-year-old was handed a rare start on Sunday, though he failed to find a breakthrough against Newcastle.
However, he will point to the fact that his last seven games against the club for United and Real Madrid - dating back to 2009 - have seen him score a frightening 10 goals.
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur prediction
United's big win in north London last season feels a lifetime away, but that doesn't mean we should rule out a home victory.
With Spurs losing Richarlison to injury on Saturday, and with Dejan Kulusevski's absence hitting hard, it is tough to see too much in the way of penetrating goalmouth action.
Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus is the only opposition forward to score in any of Spurs' away league games this term, so the hosts' success may depend on the ability of Rashford or Ronaldo to buck that trend and make an impact. Less than 2.5 goals, but with Rashford scoring or assisting, looks tempting at 9.08/1.