Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United
Date: 13/01/2019
K/O: 16:30
Venue: Wembley Stadium
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
Referee: Mike Dean
In-form Manchester United travel to Spurs for what is set to be Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s biggest test yet as the Red Devils’ manager.
Opponents Spurs will keep much of the same team that started Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg victory over Chelsea.
United, on the other hand, will be far fresher, with last Saturday’s FA Cup victory over Reading their last fixture and only Phil Jones and Juan Mata retaining their places from the League win at Newcastle three days prior.
Tottenham will be seeking to keep pace with Liverpool and Manchester City, while United are aiming to continue their renewed top-four challenge and maintain Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s winning start in the process.
Spurs have several injury concerns, though many are nearing a return after a spell on the sidelines. Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama are certain absentees, however with Dier suffering from Appendicitis and Wanyama a knee issue.
Hugo Lloris was rested on Tuesday and will return in goal, while Ben Davies and Serge Aurier are both available and could replace Danny Rose and Kieran Trippier at full-back.
Jan Vertonghen is closing in on a return having returned to training last week, and the Belgian defender could start if Mauricio Pochettino opts to rest Davinson Sanchez, who has started all three of Spurs’ games in 2019 so far.
With Dier and Wanyama still unavailable and Moussa Dembele on the verge of sealing an £11 million move to Beijing Guoan, Harry Winks is expected to continue in a deep role in midfield.
Elsewhere in the middle, Pochettino faces several key decisions. Moussa Sissoko, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Erik Lamela are all available, with only three of them likely to get the nod to start behind in-form Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.
Lucas Moura is expected to be passed fit, having missed the previous few games, but Pochettino will not risk the Brazilian from the start.
Manchester United could name an entirely changed lineup for the trip to Wembley, having rested several first-team members in the FA Cup victory over Reading last week.
David De Gea will return in goal, with Antonio Valencia, Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw set to return in defence in place of Diogo Dalot, Matteo Darmian and Ashley Young.
Phil Jones will retain his place in the centre of defence, with Eric Bailly still suspended and Marcus Rojo and Chris Smalling still on the sidelines.
Paul Pogba returned to training this week and will start in midfield, alongside Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera, with Andreas Pereira, Fred and Scott McTominay set to drop out.
Marcus Rashford has been involved in 10 goals in his last 10 matches in all competitions and will return to lead the attack, with Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial also set to return on the wings.
Predicted Starting XIs
Spurs (4-4-2): Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Winks, Alli, Eriksen, Sissoko; Son, Kane.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Lindelof, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Pogba, Lingard, Rashford, Martial.
Prediction: Spurs 2 Manchester United 2
