Jose Mourinho confirmed at his pre-match press conference this afternoon that Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, and Moussa Sissoko will all start Tottenham’s return match against Manchester United on Friday.
And while the king of the mind games has showed some of his cards, there are still a couple of big decisions to make regarding our starting lineup.
One of those is on the right wing where there appears to be a choice between Steven Bergwijn, Erik Lamela, and Lucas Moura. Interestingly, Mourinho didn’t name Bergwijn as a starter when asked about the other players who are returning from their pre-lockdown injuries, and I think he will stay loyal to Lucas who has started more games than any other player since the Portuguese’s arrival. There is the temptation to throw in Lamela in the hope that he can replicate his usually promising start of season form over this stretch of games, but Lucas is the safe pick, and also my pick.
Another tough call for Mourinho to make is the choice of defensive partner for Toby Alderweireld. Eric Dier was enjoying a centre-back renaissance prior to the break and I do think we will see him get a run there between now and the end of the campaign as the club weigh up whether to offer him a new contract. Dier and Alderweireld were paired together in the 11 vs. 11 intra-squad practice match which might be a clue into Mourinho’s thinking.
But United possess lightning pace upfront and I’d go for the horses for courses selection of Davinson Sanchez, who may help to combat the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial when Serge Aurier goes walkabout.
What would be your choices at centre-back and right-wing?
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