Focus on United - Simon Peach, PA

It's always one of the big days on the calendar, and as we look ahead to the visit of Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday (4.30pm), we've called on the expertise of Simon Peach, Manchester United and England reporter in his role as chief football writer at the Press Association.

@SimonPeach

Form

Simon: “United are unbeaten on the road in the Premier League since January, 2020 (Liverpool away). There have been some near misses, some scares in that run, but their away form has been exceptional. It almost suits them to be on the road. They haven’t always produced the best performances, but they have got the results. Just look at Grenada on Thursday night, a 2-0 away win in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final, and they didn’t really get out of third gear.”

Style

Simon: “The four at the back picks itself at the moment, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, he’s been a revelation this season. The goalkeeping situation is interesting. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer isn’t naming a number one, but I’ll guess Dean Henderson. In front of them, there will be two sitting midfielders with Bruno Fernandes in front, an out-and-out striker and two wide players. They are built to attack with pace and to counter-attack, their problems arise when they have to break teams down. It will be interesting to see how Jose Mourinho plays it.”

Key player

Simon: “Luke Shaw is a doubt, and he’s been a creative option for United, but I’ll say Bruno Fernandes. You only have to look at his goals and assists record. He’s been a joy to watch. I don’t think he’s quite been at his peak for the last few weeks, but he’s still been racking up those key goal contributions. Most importantly, he’s a leader. You’ll always see him bellowing for the ball, he never hides, and he’s a really impressive character. He will be the key man for United. Stop him having space and time on the ball and Tottenham will have a good chance."