Ahead of the all big six midweek clash tomorrow night, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he’s at a club where the leadership have a level of ambition that’s on par with his. Mourinho met the media yesterday to preview Wednesday night’s Premier League clash at Tottenham Hotspur, a game that will see Alexis Sanchez make his league debut in a Red Devils shirt.
It’s going to be a pretty hyped up match, and during the preview press conference, Mourinho fielded a question about his signing a new contract extension last week.
Mourinho, who turned 55 and coached his 100th game at United in Friday’s 4-0 win at Yeovil Town in the FA Cup fourth round, says he’s seeking stability now at Old Trafford.
“The club wants the same as I want, it’s as simple as that. Owners, board, they have the same ambitions that I have, they have the same desire to improve at every level to make possible that these ambitions in terms of a sporting achievement we can have sooner or later,” said Mourinho, who won three trophies his first year on the job at United (Europa League, EFL Cup, Community Shield).
“We know stability is very important and we make the decision to sign a contract with this in mind. We believe in each other, we have common goals.”
Mourinhho became the first United manager ever to win a trophy during his debut season with the club. Currently his side is in second place, 12 points off Manchester City for the top of the table, so not in title contention, but obviously in good shape for a top four finish. They have also advanced to the UEFA Champions League knockout round and FA Cup fifth round.
Tottenham Hotspur head into the match in fifth place, eight points behind United and two behind Liverpool for the fourth and final Champions League qualification slot.
With both teams fighting for a top four finish, this should be a fiercely contested battle at the national stadium.
Injury report for both teams: go to this link
Jose Mourinho press conference video: go to this link
Combined Best XI of the two teams (from the first meeting in October): go to this link
Odds: Tottenham- 13/10, Man Utd- 21/10, Draw- 23/10
Run of form Tottenham: DWDWW, Manchester United: WWWDD
Prediction: United 1, Tottenham 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune corporation blogging community Chicago Now.
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