Mourinho And Pochettino Go Head-To-Head In Must Win FA Cup Semi-Final For Both Manchester United And Tottenham

Mourinho And Pochettino Go Head-To-Head In Must Win FA Cup Semi-Final For Both Manchester United And Tottenham
13:49, 20 Apr 2018

Tottenham and Manchester United are now relying on the FA Cup for their only chance of silverware this season as they meet in the semi-finals. 

The north Londoners are hoping to make their first final since 1991, when Terry Venables' side beat Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest, whereas the Red Devils last lifted the trophy in 2016. 

Mauricio Pochettino made six changes to his side for Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Brighton, a result that while disappointing, leaves the Lilywhites five points clear of Chelsea. 

United themselves have had mixed results in recent weeks, following up the defeat to West Brom that handed Manchester City the title with a 2-0 win over Bournemouth in midweek. Paul Pogba was threatened with the axe but was much improved against the Cherries and could now retain his place at the national stadium. 

Ironically, Jose Mourinho's side are actually billed as the home side but it remains to be seen whether the Lilywhites' experience at Wembley stands them in good stead, even if they are in the away dressing room - City and Chelsea are the only sides to have beaten them there all season in the league, while West Ham and Juventus have also recorded victories in the League Cup and Champions League respectively. 

Team news 

Mourinho has no new injury worries, aside from being without back-up goalkeeper Sergio Romero who may have given way to David de Gea regardless. Pochettino too has a relatively clean bill of health, missing only Danny Rose (calf) and Harry Winks (ankle). 

Toby Alderweireld made his first league start since October at the AMEX and Spurs could operate with three at the back to accommodate him; a further dilemma is whether to restore Michel Vorm to the starting XI, with the stopper having started all of Spurs’ previous domestic cup games this season. Last season, Hugo Lloris was brought in for the semi-final against Chelsea. 

Expected line-ups:

Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Young, Matic, Herrera, Pogba, Lingard, Lukaku, Rashford 

Tottenham: Lloris, Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Dembele, Eriksen, Alli, Son, Kane 

Did you know?

Spurs have lost their last eight FA Cup semi-finals. Their record in finals is much better, however, with only Coventry beating them at the final hurdle in 1987.

These two are the only sides to have won a trophy in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00's - Tottenham only have two more years to ensure they add to that record this decade, with their last cup coming in 2008. 

Prediction: 

Despite Pochettino's insistence - yet again, and much to the irritation of some fans - that winning the domestic cups won't be "life-changing", this is a club that deserves a trophy for all the progress they have made over the past four years. 

Mourinho has a reputation for getting the job done in the big games and has still never lost a final in 90 minutes, but for United to get there, they must overcome a Spurs side by whom they were soundly beaten at Wembley in January. 

Manchester United 1-2 Tottenham 

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