After a disappointing outing against Newport County, Tottenham Hotspur return to action tonight in the Premier League. The North London outfit have a tough game against Manchester United and the tie starts a run where they’ll take on Liverpool, Arsenal and Juventus in the coming weeks, so they can’t afford a repeat of that performance against Newport.
Mauricio Pochettino will have the services of Lucas Moura for some of the games. The Brazilian has completed his medical and is expected to seal his 25 million pound move to Spurs pretty soon. With him, the squad will look a lot better as the team will play quite a lot of games which includes the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
Pochettino named a fairly strong lineup for the FA Cup but the team had to rely on Harry Kane once again to ensure a replay.
United are in good form and haven’t conceded a goal in January so far this season. Mourinho’s side have a good record at Wembley as well, and having signed Alexis Sanchez, they will be hard to stop. The good news for Spurs is they have a few players who will be returning from injuries. Here’s how they could line up against Manchester United…
Defence
Hugo Lloris is expected to guard the goal for the hosts. The Frenchman will have a tough time during set pieces as United have quite a few big players in their starting XI. Toby Alderweireld is back, but it’s unlikely we’ll see him against United as he isn’t match fit yet. Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez are expected to play at the heart of the defence.
Ben Davies and Serge Aurier could play as the two fullbacks and will have the task of dealing with Anthony Martial and Alexis Sanchez who could play on the wide areas. Aurier will be crucial as he not only contributes while defending but has the ability to stretch the opposition defence.
Midfield
Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele could start in front of the defence and will be crucial in stopping the likes of Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba. The latter will be a big threat with his runs from his own half and Spurs will have to be wary of his threat.
Christian Eriksen could play in the number 10 role and will be up against Nemanja Matic.
Attack
Son Heung–Min and Dele Alli will support Eriksen in the attacking midfield. Harry Kane will lead the line and will want to continue his goalscoring form.
