EPL

Eriksen returning to training but Ten Hag says Man Utd need to win without him

By Sports Desk April 04, 2023

Christian Eriksen returns to full training with Manchester United on Tuesday, manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed.

The Denmark international has been sidelined since January with an ankle injury but remains hopeful of featuring before the end of the season.

While Eriksen will not be available to feature against his former side, Brentford, on Wednesday, a return could be right around the corner.

"He's not ready for tomorrow but he's returning to the pitch and into team training today, so we now have to see how quickly he can make progress," Ten Hag said at a press conference.

Eriksen's continued absence in midfield is further complicated by Casemiro's suspension. He was issued a four-match suspension following his red card in the goalless draw against Southampton and remains absent for the midweek clash, as well as Saturday's meeting with Everton.

Ten Hag accepts that losing two players of such a high calibre has an impact on the side but called on his squad to step up, expressing a necessity to win.

"They are two quality players. In the midfield department, games will be decided. When you miss two quality players, it's a clear [impact], but you have a squad and, when you don't have them, you still have to win," he added.

After winning the EFL Cup in February, United have hit a poor run of form in the Premier League with a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool and 2-0 loss at Newcastle either side of the aforementioned draw with Saints, dropping to fifth after Tottenham's Monday draw with Everton.

United are tied on points with Newcastle and Spurs, though hold two games in hand over the latter, but the club's struggles in the league since ending their trophy drought at Wembley are a cause for concern.

Ten Hag sees things differently, however, highlighting the FA Cup quarter-final win over Fulham as evidence that there are no issues in securing results against Premier League opponents.

"We played 60 minutes against Southampton with 10 men, we beat Fulham, that's a Premier League opponent, we beat Newcastle in the Carabao Cup, a Premier League opponent, so there's no concern - we know we can beat Premier League teams," he concluded.

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    Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has defended the club following comments made by former goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in his new book regarding the Champions League final in 2019.

    Lloris, who made 447 appearances for Spurs between 2012 and 2024, suggested his former club were happy to be second best, claiming chairman Daniel Levy gifted the players watches with ‘Champions League finalists’ engraved on them before they faced Liverpool five years ago.

    They went on to lose the final in Madrid 2-0. However, Postecoglou, who has questioned the club’s mentality himself, insists the period Lloris referred to should be looked back upon with pride.

    "There could have been a very successful period for the club. They came very close. We're talking about finishing runners-up in the Premier League, runners-up in the Champions League,” Postecoglou said.

    “It could have been a very different era and maybe, in retrospect, you would be looking at those things. It's easier to focus on the negatives when the outcomes are not what you want, but there was obviously a lot right at the time which got them close to the ultimate.

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    Spurs are aiming to avenge their midweek defeat to Galatasaray in the Europa League against strugglers Ipswich Town, who, along with Wolves, are yet to win in the Premier League this term.

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    "Yeah, I think every weekend, every league game, has its potential to hurt you if you're not at your best. Ipswich will be no different,” Postecoglou said.

    "They got close last week, close the week before. I think Kieran McKenna has done an unbelievable job. We're expecting a tough one at the weekend, our form at home has been pretty strong."

    While Ipswich remain winless upon their return to the top-flight, McKenna believes there have been signs of progress at the club.

    "I don't think you can always set an exact expectation or definition of performances because every game is different. One of our first goals is to be competitive in every match, and we're not too far away from that,” McKenna said.

    “Across the 10 games we have certainly been in the large majority of games. We would have liked to have won a couple by now but, also, we've only lost five out of 10 with what we have been through and the challenges we have faced over the early part of the season.

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    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Tottenham – Dominic Solanke

    After scoring three goals in his last two games for Spurs across all competitions, Solanke will be hoping to get his season up and running against Ipswich this weekend.

    But his work rate at the top end of the pitch has gone under the radar this term. He has applied more pressures in the final third than any other player in the Premier League this season (212).

    Ipswich – Leif Davis

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    But he has not neglected his defensive responsibilities either. Only Sam Morsy (17) has won more tackles than Davis (12) for the Tractor Boys in the top-flight.

    MATCH PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM WIN

    Despite being heavily favoured by Opta’s data-led simulations, Tottenham have won just three of their 10 Premier League games against Ipswich (D3 L4). Excluding ever-present sides, it’s their lowest win rate against any opponent they’ve faced 10 or more times in the competition.

    And Spurs have also struggled after competing in the Europa League in midweek. They have lost their last two Premier League games at the weekend immediately following a European match, losing to Brighton and Crystal Palace. Only twice have they lost three consecutive such matches, doing so from December 2012 to March 2013 and from September to October 2019.

    They have also conceded the first goal in each of their last four top-flight home games but have come back to win the last three. No team has ever conceded first but gone on to win four consecutive home games in the competition before.

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    Ipswich remain winless in their 10 Premier League games this season (D5 L5), their longest run without a win from the start of a top-flight season. They have lost their last two away games 4-1 at West Ham and 4-3 at Brentford, last conceding four or more goals in three consecutive away league games in March 1964.

    The Tractor Boys have also struggled in recent visits to the capital. They have lost their last five Premier League away games against London sides, conceding at least two goals each time (16 in total). However, 33% of their Premier League wins in London have come against Spurs (2/6), including their last such victory in December 2001.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Tottenham – 71.2%

    Draw – 16.2%

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    And Motta paid tribute to his players for their performance levels at the end of a busy seven days.

    "It's always important to play with balance, and today, we put in an excellent performance, bringing home three precious points," he said.

    "I am happy both for the result and for the level of play expressed in front of our fans, who supported us a lot. We have to thank them, as well as the boys, because it was not easy.

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