Cavani paired with Ronaldo for first time as Solskjaer reverts to back three

Edinson Cavani was paired with Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time as Manchester United reverted to a three-man defence for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham.

Seeking a response from last week’s 5-0 home defeat to Liverpool, under-fire United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made two changes to his starting line-up and tweaked formation.

Cavani was brought into attack alongside Ronaldo, with Bruno Fernandes operating just behind the front two in a 3-4-1-2.

After netting three goals in his first two Premier League appearances for United this season, Ronaldo has not scored in any of his past four league matches – his worst run since November 2017 for Real Madrid.

Fit-again defender Raphael Varane was also recalled alongside Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire after missing United’s most recent three games, during which time they conceded 11 goals.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw were shifted into wing-back roles, while Scott McTominay and Fred kept their places in central midfield, despite last week’s historic defeat.

Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood were the two players to make way for United, who also named Jadon Sancho among their substitutes once again.

Here’s our starting XI for today’s trip to Tottenham.#MUFC | #TOTMUN

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 30, 2021

As for Spurs, Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier, Lucas Moura and Son Heung-min were recalled from the EFL Cup win at Burnley, with Ben Davies retaining his place for a first league start of the season and his 150th appearance in the competition for the club.

Tottenham had lost two of their past three home games with United in the Premier League ahead of this contest, following a previous run of six games without defeat on home soil in this fixture.

Your team to face Manchester United! pic.twitter.com/1CzZl66YMS

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 30, 2021