Reds' Fine Early Starts

Manchester United approach the noon showdown with Tottenham on Sunday on the back of a long unbeaten run in midday kick-offs.

The Reds' last defeat at 12pm came back in September 2002 when a solitary strike by Harry Kewell earned Leeds victory at Elland Road but, since that reverse in Yorkshire, United have embarked on a string of 11 positive results in early starts to domestic fixtures.

This includes an FA Cup semi-final success against Arsenal at Villa Park, thanks to Paul Scholes' winner, and 10 Premier League encounters, with Everton providing the opposition on half of the occasions in the top-flight games.

Seven clean sheets were kept in the 11 games, suggesting the Reds were on their mettle for the early outings, and United will strive to keep the run going at White Hart Lane this weekend.

Delving further into the record books, a number of 11.30am kick-offs have been played since the turn of the century, including a 3-2 win at Watford and a 3-1 triumph against Sunday's opponents Tottenham.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer proved particularly prolific in games that began at noon or earlier, scoring nine times in early kick-offs since 2000.

David Beckham bagged five strikes in the early starts during the same period, including the memorable free-kick winner at Manchester City in 2000.

Early kick-offs

18.12.11 QPR (A) 2-0 (Carrick, Rooney)
29.10.11 Everton (A) 1-0 (Hernandez)
26.09.10 Bolton (A) 2-2 (Nani, Owen)
25.10.08 Everton (A) 1-1 (Fletcher)
23.12.07 Everton (H) 2-1 (Ronaldo 2)
15.09.07 Everton (A) 1-0 (Vidic)
18.09.05 Liverpool (A) 0-0
30.08.04 Everton (H) 0-0
03.04.04 Arsenal (N) 1-0 (Scholes)
18.10.03 Leeds (A) 1-0 (Keane)
23.08.03 Newcastle (A) 2-1 (Scholes, van Nistelrooy)