Match Preview
Louis van Gaal has hailed the achievements of
Mauricio Pochettino as Manchester United prepare
to visit Barclays Premier League title-challengers
Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Spurs go into the match at White Hart Lane this
weekend as genuine contenders for English
football's biggest prize. United, meanwhile, are in
race for the top four- they are fifth, one point behind
local rivals Manchester City with seven matches of
the league season remaining.
"I think that they have a very good squad and I have
said this also last year," Van Gaal said. "He has
made a team of this squad, a team that presses
high with a good positional game and they score a
lot of goals.
"They also have a lot of clean sheets though, which
show they are a well-organised and structured
team. I think you can give credit to Mauricio
Pochettino."
Pochettino has not only won admirers for his team's
style of play and sustained assault on the
championship but also for bringing through a core of
home-grown talent, headlined by Harry Kane and
Dele Alli, along with Eric Dier, Danny Rose and
Ryan Mason.
Speaking at his pre-match media conference on
Friday, Pochettino agreed with suggestions the
clutch of domestic talent could aspire to match the
achievements of United's 'Class of 92', a crop
including David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary
Neville which fired the Red Devils to more than a
decade of dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson.
"Yes, why not?" he said. "This is something we
decided on. We need to give them time to work hard
so they can improve. But I think we have showed so
far [the] quality in the team."
The match will come too soon for Wayne Rooney to
be involved as the United captain continues his
recovery from a knee injury with the club's
Under-21s. Ashley Young and Phil Jones, while
lacking sharpness, are back in selection contention.
Nabil Bentaleb (knee) is Tottenham's only confirmed
absentee, with Clinton N'Jie and Jan Vertonghen
(both knee) doubtful to return.
Tottenham Hotspur (from): Lloris, McGee, Vorm,
Alderweireld, Davies, Dier, Rose, Trippier,
Vertonghen, Walker, Wimmer, Alli, Carroll, Chadli,
Dembele, Eriksen, Lamela, Mason, Onomah, Son,
Winks, Kane, N'Jie.
Manchester United (from): De Gea, Romero,
Borthwick-Jackson, Darmian, Jones, McNair, Rojo,
Smalling, Valencia, Varela, Blind, Fosu-Mensah,
Carrick, Fellaini, Herrera, Januzaj, Lingard, Mata,
Pereira, Schneiderlin, Young, Depay, Martial,
Rashford.
Match Appointments
Referee: Mike Dean Assistants: S Burt, E Smart
Fourth Official: J Moss
Match Facts
- Manchester United have now won back-to-back
Barclays Premier League matches against
Tottenham Hotspur, after a five-match winless run
(D3 L2). They last won three in a row against Spurs
in 2010 (four).
- Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs are yet to score
against Manchester United in three meetings.
- Man Utd have not lost any of the last 14 top-
flight encounters against Spurs at White Hart Lane,
but have drawn six of the last eight (W8 D6).
- Spurs’ last home league win over United came
on the final day of the 2000/01 season.
http://m.premierleague.com/en-gb/matches/2015-2016/epl.summary.html/spurs-vs-man-utd
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