As the Premier League returns this weekend there is a mouth-watering curtain raiser to whet the appetite as Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United side host Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham. The Red Devils have really splashed the cash this summer, bringing in midfield reinforcements in Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin, along with Matteo Darmian and Memphis Depay. Meanwhile the remit for Spurs in the window has been clear. They’ve signed three defenders on the back of a season that saw only four sides concede more goals, with 53.
The fact that 3 of said tally came in this fixture last season, with United running out 3-0 winners back in March, doesn’t bode particularly well for a Tottenham side that drew a blank in both matches against Van Gaal’s men in 2014/15. With no changes made to their attacking ranks the Londoners will be pinning their hopes on Harry Kane once again, while his England compatriot Wayne Rooney looks set to be the lead striker for United following the departures of Van Persie and Falcao.
All eyes may well be on the man set to play the support role to the United skipper up front though, with much expected of new arrival Memphis Depay. The young Dutchman, who made his international bow under Van Gaal’s stewardship, has scored more goals over the past two Eredivisie seasons than any other player (34), and notched 22 times en route to a comprehensive title win for PSV last season. Garnering a WhoScored.com rating of 7.92 in the process, he is certainly one to watch.