Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a double boost ahead of their Premier League meeting with Manchester United this evening.
What’s the latest?
Speaking in his pre-match press conference (via ManUtd.com), Erik ten Hag revealed that, after missing the Red Devils’ draw with Newcastle United last weekend with a back injury, Anthony Martial will once again be unavailable for the visit of Spurs on Wednesday evening having failed to recover from his knock.
The Dutchman then went on to state that, despite returning to first-team training on Monday, Christian Eriksen is another doubt for tonight’s fixture, with the 30-year-old struggling to recover from an illness that also saw him miss the 0-0 draw with Eddie Howe’s side on Sunday afternoon.
Regarding the condition of the duo, Ten Hag said: “Anthony Martial, he is not available. He is back on the pitch but not in the team training. Christian Eriksen returned in the team training today and we have to see how that works out, how he will recover [and] whether tomorrow he has the energy. So we have to wait for that.”
Big boost for Conte
Considering just how impressive both Martial and Eriksen have been under the management of Ten Hag so far this season, the news that both players look set to miss the visit of Tottenham will undoubtedly come as a big boost to Spurs’ chances of taking all three points back to north London tonight.
Indeed, despite featuring in just three Premier League fixtures in 2022/23 as a result of numerous injury setbacks, Martial has highly impressed when he has been on the pitch, scoring two goals, registering two assists and creating two big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 0.7 shots – 100% of which have been goals – and making one key pass per game.
These returns have seen the 26-year-old average a simply sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.63, not only ranking him as United’s best performer in the league but also as the fourth-best player in the top flight of English football as a whole.
Meanwhile, over Eriksen’s eight Premier League appearances this term, the £13m-rated midfielder has also impressed, having registered two assists and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.0 shots – one of which has been on target – making 1.3 key passes and finding his man with 2.1 long balls per game.
As such, with Eriksen being a huge source of creativity in the middle of the park, as well as Martial being in incredibly deadly form in the final third, it is clear to see that the absence of the duo is fantastic news for Conte and his side – as a United team without the forward-thinking duo is certainly a must less dangerous prospect than one with them in the starting XI.
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