Manchester United - Tottenham Preview: How the Two Clubs Match Up (August 22)

With their match against Everton postponed, Tottenham Hotspur instead begin their Premier League season with title-favourites Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday.

After defeating West Bromwich last week, Manchester United go into their home opener without their regular centre back starters, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand.

Vidic has got a calf muscle injury, which means he'll be four to five weeks, said manager Sir Alex Ferguson. It's longer than we thought. Meanwhile, Rio's injury isn't as bad as we thought and he could be ready for our game against Arsenal.

Fortunately for the Red Devils, Chris Smalling earned a great deal of playing time last season when Ferdinand was inactive, and has proven to be a solid replacement. Ferguson also has Phil Jones and Jonny Evans to step in, and Patrice Evans may be ready for action, as well.

Rafael, Javier El Chicharito Hernandez, Antonio Valencia, Michael Owen, and Darren Fletcher are all unavailable due to injury, though Hernandez has been practicing with the club following his concussion, and Valencia is nearly recovered.

The Red Devils breezed through the competition this summer, but had struggles against West Bromwich in their first Premier League match. New goalkeeper David De Gea had a poor showing in his debut, and West Brom kept the match tied for most of the second half. The 20-year-old Spaniard failed to handle a routine save, causing some to worry that he might not be the right fit for United.

Ferguson will expect more from De Gea against Spurs. Experts predict that the London club will finish in the top five of the Premier League.

Tottenham could be a little distracted going into the match as transfer rumours continue to swirl. While Robbie Keane has already moved on to sunny Los Angeles, Luka Modric is expected to be sent to Chelsea while his Croatian teammate Niko Kranjcar could be on his way out to Sunderland. Losing those players may not mean manager Harry Redknapp will be left empty-handed as Spurs may soon be welcoming Lassana Diara, Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor to White Hart Lane.

Redknapp certainly needs reinforcements at midfield due to a rash of injuries.

Tom Huddlestone's got a problem with his ankle from last year when he had an operation - he missed the back end of last season, said Redknapp, on August 17th.

Luka Modric has got a groin problem, he's not fit. Jermaine Jenas has got an Achilles injury, Wilson Palacios is not going to be fit for tomorrow and Sandro is out long-term with a knee injury, so that's five midfield players.

Manchester United didn't dominate West Bromwich last week as some would expect, so Tottenham can perhaps head into Monday's high-profile encounter with some confidence.

Tottenham could certainly use some breaks against Manchester United based on past results. The Red Devils have dominated Tottenham in their last 20 Premier League matches, with 15 wins and five draws.

Tottenham haven't beat Manchester United at Old Trafford since December 1989, when England star Gary Lineker scored the lone goal of the match.