Tottenham – Manchester Utd

The home team will score at least one point in the encounter between their neighbours

In one of the most important fixtures of the 33rd round of the Premier League, the league table neighbours will meet. Despite being neighbours, the opponents are in a completely unequal league position. Manchester United are not only six points ahead of the competition, but they also have two games left. Newcastle, with Eric ten Hag's side on the same number of points, could be seen as the more likely rival for Tottenham in the Champions League zone, but Antonio Conte's side suffered a 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Magpies on Sunday. All in all, only a win against Manchester United on Thursday can rectify Tottenham's unsightly position in the top-four. The bookmakers have picked the visitors as favourites ahead of the encounter in London, with only a slight tilt in the odds in favour of their three points. Tottenham cannot be called a stable team this season. The results of the Spurs in the last two months are very typical. March began for the London side with defeats to Sheffield United in the FA Cup and Wolverhampton in the Premier League. Spurs were unbeaten in the league and Champions League for a month before slipping back to defeat in the second half of April. In both cases, Conte's side were particularly painful. In the first case, it came following a 2-3 draw with Bournemouth in London due to a decisive 90+5th minute goal. The second was a total collapse in the game against Newcastle (1-6), with Spurs conceding five goals midway through the first half. Manchester United are not exactly in top form at the moment either. Less than a week ago, the Red Devils lost to Sevilla in the Europa League quarter-finals, giving them goodbye to their European ambitions this season. Eric ten Hague's side beat Brighton in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday in a penalty shoot-out. After just three full days, it is unlikely that the MJ players will be toned down after 120 minutes of serious tension. All the more reason to play away again. And even against an opponent for whom, after a 1-6 defeat, a positive result is a matter of honour.