Preview: Man Utd vs Tottenham Women in the WSL - Sunday, 14 December, 2025,

Spurs have made huge progress under Martin Ho, but they still lack that statement win. A victory over one of the "Big Four". Can they change that this weekend?

Spurs were not fantastic last time out against Aston Villa, but that 95th minute Olivia Holdt winner will give them a huge confidence boost going into the game. Ho described it as "huge". He added that "when you're not at your best and you can win games, I think it's the signs of a good team in the making."

The Dane finished after a wonderful reverse pass by Drew Spence, who this week signed a new contact with the club. Ho regards the Jamaican international as one key leaders in his squad. Spence and captain Bethany England will certainly have to stand up if their team is going to get anything at the Leigh Sports Village Stadium.

The manager is clearly going into the game with a positive attitude: "If we put in a big performance, and we perform to the levels I know we can, with and without the ball, I believe we can be a match for anyone, and we've shown that in large spells now." 

Interestingly he said "that we go into this game with a totally different mentality in terms of how we've been in the previous game against Arsenal just recently." This perhaps suggest a bit more attacking intent. However, Ho was clear that "I'm under no illusion that it's big task in terms of when we play these teams".

Spurs will have to get this win, and a lot of others, without Jessica Naz. The England winger has cruelly got the second ACL injury of her career and will not be back for some time. "She's doing okay," said Ho. He conceded that Naz "will be a big loss in terms of in and out of possession". Molly Bartrip's return to the heart of the Tottenham defence is timely though. However well they have been playing without her, it's yet another senior player back in the mix.

Spurs proved recently against Arsenal that they can grind it out against the top teams. It's been a remarkable turnaround since that early-season shambles against Man City. However, getting over the line  is going to require a real creative spark. Maybe a bit of magic from the bench. I cannot quite see where that is going to come from. But Spurs barely had a sight of Arsenal's goal in that famous derby almost exactly two years ago and, in Holdt, they have a special player who provide those standout out moments.

Man Utd vs Spurs in the WSL kicks off at 2.30pm GMT/11.30am ET on Sunday, 14th December. It is available to watch for FREE on BBC Two/iPlayer in the UK, and is on ESPN Select/Fubo in the US. If you’re away, you can still access your usual services by using a VPN. ​​​I use NordVPN.​​​You can currently get up to 74% off with their holiday deal.