Paul Pogba makes cut, no place for Alexis Sanchez
Monday 27 August 2018 11:30, UK
We challenged Matt Le Tissier to pick his combined XI from Manchester United and Tottenham ahead of their Monday Night Football showdown.
The Southampton legend has gone for a Spurs majority, with just three members of Jose Mourinho's squad making his line-up as Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku and Fred all miss out.
Based on players expected to be fit for the clash, here's Le Tiss' best XI...
David de Gea's halo has slipped a little bit in the last few months, but not to a point where he's no longer considered for the best goalkeeper in the world status. Hugo Lloris is up amongst the league's top keepers but De Gea is a fraction better.
My right-back will be Kieran Trippier, who was outstanding in the World Cup. He is one of the best crossers of the ball in the Premier League and has added some decent set-pieces to his game.
You can't pick Luke Shaw at the moment, although given a decent season he might challenge the Spurs left-backs. Because the consistent Ben Davies has held that spot for a while I have to go with him. Although Danny Rose is probably a better footballer on his day, injuries have limited his chances.
My centre-backs will be Toby Alderweireled and Jan Vertonghen. I really thought Man Utd would push the boat out to get Alderweireld because he's amongst the best centre-backs in the Premier League on his day. Vertonghen took over the role of that dominant centre-back last season and helped Davinson Sanchez.
Paul Pogba would be my first pick in midfield and then, if Victor Wanyama was playing on a regular basis I'd have him in there as I'm not a massive fan of Eric Dier. I'm a big fan of Mousa Dembele, but I do struggle with the fact he very rarely scores or contributes assists for the amount of ability he has in his game.
If Nemanja Matic was available he would be the one to get in there, while I don't think Fred has pulled up any trees. He'll get better but I'd take Dembele based on Matic being unlikely to be fully fit in time.
Christian Eriksen gets in without a shadow of a doubt. He's one of my favourite players and I always appreciate a player who can influence a game without running very fast!
Based on his performances of last season Heung-Min Son would be in there if he was available, so I will go with Dele Alli. Even though his form dropped off a bit last season, albeit with a decent scoring return, there's improvement in him at 22.
The third one in there would be Marcus Rashford. I'm a big fan of him and I don't think Jose Mourinho is getting the best out of him with substitute appearances. Give the boy a run in the team and he'll get better and better.
I think Alexis Sanchez has been poor since he's been at United. He gives the ball away more than any other player I've seen so wouldn't get in my XI.
The easiest position to pick is the striker, Harry Kane. Other than his strength and maybe pace, I can't think why you'd take Romelu Lukaku over Kane. If Kane plays 36-plus games I would say he'd score a minimum 24-25 goals, as I expect two goals in every three games from him. Then he also likes to batter a weaker opponent at the end of the season to top up his tally!
Le Tiss has also picked his Sky Sports Six-a-Side team, going for Harry Kane, Mousa Dembele, David de Gea, Christian Eriksen, Kieran Trippier and Jan Vertonghen.
