Peter Crouch makes Man Utd vs Tottenham and Liverpool vs Man City predictions

Peter Crouch has backed Manchester United to extend their 100 per cent record under Michael Carrick with a 2-0 victory over Tottenham this weekend.

Carrick was tasked with steadying the ship after picking up the pieces from Ruben Amorim’s turbulent 14-month reign at Old Trafford just three weeks ago.

But the 44-year-old has far surpassed expectations, steering the Red Devils to consecutive wins over second-placed Manchester City, leaders Arsenal and Fulham in his first three games in charge.

It means Carrick – a five-time Premier League winner with United during his playing days – remains undefeated across his two spells as interim head coach.

In his previous stint in charge after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal in 2021, the ex-England midfielder led United to a pair of wins and a draw against Arsenal, Villarreal and Chelsea respectively.

United’s upturn in form has seen the club rise up to fourth in the English top flight ahead of what promises to be an intriguing clash with Tottenham, another of Carrick’s former teams.

But while United enter the contest as the firm bookmakers’ favourites, they will no doubt be wary of a Spurs side that fought back from two goals down to salvage a draw against Manchester City last time out.

Tottenham’s hero that day, Dominic Solanke, is a slight doubt for Saturday’s trip to the Theatre of Dreams having been forced off in the closing stages of the 2-2 thriller.

‘It’s big for Spurs to have Solanke back but I’m not sure if he’s injured for this game,’ ex-Spurs striker Crouch said in his preview of the match on That Peter Crouch Podcast.

‘Regardless of whether Solanke is in or not… if he’s in, it makes it a lot better because I think Tottenham are a better side with someone up top like that.

‘The Tottenham fans haven’t been over the moon with how it’s going at home have they, let’s be honest.

‘Michael Carrick has got the bounce at the moment and that’s why I think it will be a Manchester United win, personally.

Asked for his prediction, Crouch replied: ‘I’m going to go with 2-0 to United.’

This weekend’s other heavyweight fixture takes place at Anfield between Liverpool, the reigning champions, and title-chasing City.

City’s setback at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium means they now trail top-of-the-table Arsenal by six points in the table – and Crouch thinks it could be more points dropped for Pep Guardiola’s men on Sunday.

Pressed for his score prediction, the former Liverpool and England forward replied: ‘This is always a tough one, isn’t it? I’d like to go for 2-2 because it’s been working for me and I can just see it.’

He added: ‘I’m going to go with Hugo Ekitike to score first.’

Liverpool bounced back in style after their defeat at Bournemouth, running out comprehensive 4-1 victors over Newcastle in their previous meeting.

Ekitike continued his excellent run of form with a first-half brace at Anfield, taking his goalscoring tally to 15 for the season in all competitions, and Crouch saw shades of Fernando Torres in the Frenchman’s performance on Merseyside.

‘I thought Liverpool did well on the weekend [against Newcastle]. Florian Wirtz looked sharp and Ekitike,’ he went on.

‘Do you know what Ekitike’s second goal reminded me of? It reminded me of peak Fernando Torres at Anfield, where he slows people down and then bursts.

‘I remember Torres doing that to Rio [Ferdinand] a couple of times, where he slowed him down and then bang, gone with the pace, outside the right foot. It reminded me of him.’

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