please log in to view this image Wednesday 31st January 8pm Premier League Wembley Stadium Two poor away draws is not the best form to have when you're entering a tough run of games. Beating one of the sides above us would certainly help put those games behind us, though. Both teams will be looking at this one as a must win too, with things looking quite tight from 2nd to 6th. A loss would put any thoughts of an Old Trafford title charge to bed though, so Mourinho may still keep it cagey. Do we use a similarly practical approach or take the game to them and force the issue? Man Utd's season so far has been largely positive, but tainted by the odd error and overshadowed by City. They've only lost a handful of games, won their Champions League group easily and have progressed in the FA Cup. A loss in their derby and another at Stamford Bridge are probably seen as acceptable, especially as both were by a single goal. Draws at Liverpool and Stoke will be similarly brushed over, as they've won nearly every other game. The defeat to Huddersfield will niggle, but one off day is almost a certainty. So why is Mourinho's campaign being seen in such an unflattering and critical light? Despite this impressive league form, they're still 12 points behind City, who've blown the league away. Chelsea and Liverpool aren't far behind either and we're still not out of touch, by any means. There's also the way that they've achieved the results. The Theatre of Dreams has hosted quite a lot of snoozing recently, by all accounts. Is this fair to a manager that won two trophies last season and is winning almost every game in this one? Probably not, but the Premier League is a place of short fuses and restricted patience nowadays. The financial rewards can be massive, but so are the risks and the pressure. The Old Trafford faithful have come to expect a result and a show. Is Mourinho the right showman? If extra flair was needed in the squad, then the addition of Arsenal's main man should provide it. Alexis Sanchez always looked like he was moving to Manchester, but most expected a blue shirt, rather than another red one. He's due a warm reception at Wembley, but we'll need to do far better than we did against him at The Emirates. We need to make sure that he has a league debut to forget. Our home game last season saw us say goodbye to the Lane and it was a match fitting the occasion. An early headed goal by Victor Wanyama and an equally early second half header from Kane doubled the lead. A comfortable victory wouldn't have been very Spurs though, so we conceded to Rooney and made it nervy. An undefeated league season at home brought an era to a close, as we finished with a win: A dull, dour game at Old Trafford this season saw us walk away with no points, as a late goal handed them to the hosts. It appeared that a draw was on the cards, as both teams looked pretty toothless and chances were at a premium. Kane's absence saw Pochettino go without a recognised striker, as Llorente spent the first hour on the bench. A sleepy, sloppy moment at the back allowed Martial to make an impact as a sub and nick it for Utd: It appears that Alderweireld, Eriksen, Lamela, Lloris and Rose are all available for selection again. Aurier and Winks will miss out, but are close to full fitness. Ibrahimovic and Bailly are out for United. Lineups for each side's last league game: Spurs: Vorm; Aurier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Dembele; Sissoko, Alli, Son; Kane. Subs: Gazzaniga, Trippier, Walker-Peters, Foyth, Wanyama, Lamela, Llorente. League form: WWWDWD. United: De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Jones, Young; Lingard, Matic, Pogba; Mata, Lukaku, Martial. Subs: Romero, Rojo, Shaw, McTominey, Fellaini, Herrera, Rashford. League form: DDDWWW. Referee: Andre Marriner. TV: BT Sport 1. Our last two showings have been very poor, so what needs to change? How many of those returning from injury should start and who should make way? How should we set up for this one, now that we appear to have a few tactical options available?
1. I think that he was trying to say that Janssen's been loaned out and has picked up an injury, but there's no plan to bring him back. I could be wrong, but I don't think that there was any criticism intended. 2. Is it ever a good day to be called Jeremy? That was getting dangerously close to, "Shut the **** up, Jeremy!", though, wasn't it?
Our CM is a nightmare area at the minute. Winks injured, Wanyama rusty and Dembele finished. How and why we aren't looking at reinforcements for the position baffles me. In all likelihood it is a battle that United will win, so we need to be equal to the task at the back. As much as I'd like to play 3 at the back to overcome the Maureen Intercity service, I think we'll need Dier in the middle. I'd go with: Hugo Trippier Dave Jan Davies Dier Dembele Eriksen Alli Son Kane But it really fills me with little confidence.
We all know it won't happen, but given the personnel issues we need something like... Hugo* Trippier Sanchez Verts Davies Dier Alli Lamela* Eriksen* Son Kane The main reason to consider Lamela is because we've seen a few teams deploy someone high up the pitch to occupy Trippier and exploit the space that creates, but if we had Lamela pressing high at the other end of the pitch that would force Man Utd into having to make a decision about pulling that player back to give Trippier more space or continuing to hassle him and leave a gap that Eriksen or Son can exploit in the middle third. Of course, being a Portuguese Victor Meldrew team, they'd likely counter by taking it in turns rugby tackling Kane and somehow keep getting rewarded free kicks for it...
I see Maureen is already getting his excuses in say Poch is a fantastic coach and he is easily good enough to manage one of Europe's top clubs. He must be as stupid and blind as Wenger, Poch already manages one of Europe's top clubs.
Disappointed to see Trippier start again. Don’t think he’ll get a look in offensively against United and will struggle to deal when them defensively. I bet he’s targeted tonight.
Aurier is injured. I wouldn't have risked KWP in a fixture of this importance. Looking at the bench you can see why Moura is so badly needed. Not a single game-changer there.
Him and Winks still a few weeks off returning. Dembele if we ever needed you to roll back the years and polish the rust, now is the time!
We have so many players injured or returning from injury, the Newport replay is actually a blessing in disguise.
Really worried about Davies and Trippier up against pace out wide. Still, at least Sissoko's not starting