Tottenham Hotspur take on Manchester United at home in the Carabao Cup quarter-final. After seeing off Manchester City in the previous round of the competition, Ange Postecoglou’s side faces another massive hurdle and if they manage to overcome another club from the north of England, they will be confident about going all the way in the tournament.
Spurs’ injury issues have not got any better in the last few weeks, though Postecoglou is unlikely to rotate his team too much considering the importance of the game to the team’s hopes of winning a first trophy in over 15 years. Having said that, this is how the Lilywhites could line-up for the match.
Goalkeeper – Fraser Forster is expected to retain his place between the sticks as a result of Guglielmo Vicario’s ongoing recovery from a fractured ankle from last month.
Defenders – Pedro Porro could return at right back after being excluded from the starting eleven in the 5-0 drubbing of Southampton last weekend. Destiny Udogie may also start in spite of pulling out of the game half an hour in. Ange Postecoglou confirmed that the issue was not very serious and that the Italian could have continued playing at the St. Mary’s too.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are injured, whereas Ben Davies is also recovering from a knock. Therefore, Archie Gray and Radu Dragusin could partner once more in the heart of the backline having done so against Southampton too.
Johnson to feature in attack
Midfielders – Pape Mata Sarr has been in decent form and scored in the team’s previous win in the Carabao Cup over Manchester City. He is likely to play as the holding midfielder. James Maddison might also retain his place as the left midfielder after his brace at the weekend and Dejan Kulusevski could return to the engine room having played as the right winger against Southampton last Sunday.
Forwards – Son Heung-min and Brennan Johnson are likely to keep their places on the left wing and in the centre of attack, respectively, owing to Ange Postecoglou’s lack of offensive options. Brennan Johnson may come in on the right flank. The £70,000 per week earner has arguably been the team’s best forward and will look to score again versus Manchester United having done so in Spurs’ 3-0 win at Old Trafford earlier this season in the Premier League.
Here is how Tottenham Hotspur could look on paper.
