Five things Tottenham fans will want to see against Manchester United, including a Dejan Kulusevski return

There may still be 10 days to go before Tottenham face a trip to Old Trafford, but Spurs fans will already be rubbing their hands at the prospect of facing Manchester United.

But what can we really expect from a Roberto De Zerbi team that has gone five games without a win and only scored two Premier League goals in the process?

Let’s take a look at five things Tottenham fans will be desperate to see on October 10th.

Dejan Kulusevski back on the bench for the first time in 500+ days

There are rumours that Dejan Kulusevski could finally make his long-awaited return to the squad against Man United after 18 months on the sidelines.

The Sweden international was only supposed to be out with a knock at the end of the 2025 campaign and was even tipped as a potential option for the Europa League final by Ange Postecoglou.

500 days later, and Spurs fans are still waiting after a complicated patella injury and numerous setbacks.

The big question is – as Tottenham desperately search for a creative threat – can Kulusevski ever reach anything close to his pre-injury levels?

James Maddison in the Tottenham starting line-up

If you thought that Kulusevski timeline was crazy, wait until you hear this. Dejan Kulusevski has started a Premier League game for Spurs more recently than James Maddison!

You read that correctly. After a run of three serious injuries and a constant battle to get back match fit, Maddison has only really featured for Tottenham in a cameo capacity for the last 18 months.

When he has made it onto the pitch this season, Spurs seem to tick with a far more dangerous tempo.

After all, the likes of Savio, Marmoush, and Kudus are all at their best when running in behind – they just need an out-and-out number 10 to find those runs.

Trust me, if Maddison isn’t in the starting XI against Man United after three more weeks of fitness building, then it may simply never happen for him.

Tottenham goal threat against a leaky United defence

If Tottenham have a scoring bug, then Old Trafford may be the perfect cure centre.

Man United may have scored eight goals of their own, but they have also let eight in already this season, the exact same number as 20th-placed Spurs.

The Red Devils conceded two against Hull City, Ipswich Town, and Everton, one against 10-man Man City and Fulham, and three at home to Brighton in the Carabao Cup despite leading 2-0.

If the likes of Solanke, Marmoush, Savio, Kudus, and Tel can’t find the back of an Old Trafford net, you know Spurs are really in trouble.

Missing Manchester United stars, including Bruno Fernandes

After suffering one of the worst crises of all time last season, Tottenham fans may be a little sympathetic to Man United’s current injury list (but not really, let’s be honest).

Bruno Fernandes and Patrick Dorgu were the latest to pick up problems on international duty, with the Portugal midfielder missing the game against Norway.

There are hopes that Bruno will be available again in the coming days, but Dorgu has been sent back home to Manchester.

He joins the likes of Marcus Rashford, Benjamin Sesko, Tom Heaton, Karl Darlow, Manuel Ugarte, Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo, and Matthijs de Ligt on the treatment table.

Huge improvement in fitness after three weeks of training

Roberto De Zerbi has repeatedly talked about ‘fitness’ and ‘physical conditioning’ at the start of the 2026/27 season.

Basically, he doesn’t think his Tottenham squad is fit enough to compete in the Premier League after a pre-season disrupted by the World Cup and a tour of Australia.

After the defeat to Aston Villa, De Zerbi said: “The players who go with the national team, they have to play, and they have to work, and the other players – Maddison, Gallagher, Solanke, Tosin, Senesi, Savio – for sure, we have to work more because also the physical condition, I didn’t like even this game.”

He even singled out Dominic Solanke’s fitness issues, adding: “We need more from him, for sure, but he’s one of my players. I like Dom as a player, and I stay with him until the end. He needs to stay better, to feel better. The physical condition is not good enough, for sure. But it’s normal for him; maybe he does not have enough confidence in himself at this moment, because he’s much better than this Dom Solanke.”

De Zerbi has had three weeks to work with a potential front four of Maddison, Savio, Kudus, and Solanke now, so if the fitness still isn’t there, is the excuse just that… an excuse?