Marcus Rashford and Antonio Valencia make Phil Thompson's Tottenham-Man Utd combined XI
Thursday 11 May 2017 19:38, UK
Phil Thompson picks his best line-up from the squads of Tottenham and Manchester United ahead of their Nissan Super Sunday showdown on Sky Sports.
The Liverpool legend has unsurprisingly gone with a majority of players from Spurs as Mauricio Pochettino's men head towards their highest-ever Premier League finish, while Manchester United's top-four hopes will be ended with a defeat at White Hart Lane.
As in Charlie Nicholas' Arsenal-Man Utd XI, Paul Pogba is omitted, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic misses out due to injury.
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Danny Rose is included as he looks to return from a knee injury, while Antonio Valencia gets in ahead of PFA Team of the Year right-back Kyle Walker.
Here's Thommo's XI and his justification...
"In goal I've gone with David de Gea, who is the one player who has performed consistently for a number of seasons for Manchester United.
"Then, in front of him, I've gone for Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, who have probably been the best centre-backs in the league this season. Then at left-back Danny Rose is in there on the basis that he could be fit and is easily the best option.
"Picking a right-back was one of the hardest choices because I like Kyle Walker and he's had a terrific season, but I think Antonio Valencia has probably been Manchester United's most consistent player this season.
"There's been so much change in their defence, which has been their real problem and why Jose Mourinho plays the way he does in tough games; protecting his back four so much because he knows how vulnerable they are. For Valencia to still play as well as he has means he deserves a lot of credit.
"You need a holding midfielder and Victor Wanyama has been superb, then I've gone for Ander Herrera just ahead of Mousa Dembele. He's done especially well in proving his worth to Mourinho and has shown his willing to put a foot in.
"Then it's a couple of straight-forward picks in Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli. Eriksen has been absolutely fantastic and is crucial with the quality of his final ball, whereas Alli is proving to be a great number 10 with the way he drifts into those positions where you can't pick him up. That's when he senses the space and he uses his movement brilliantly to exploit it, a bit like Terry McDermott, Bryan Robson or Teddy Sheringham.
"Then in attack, I've gone for Marcus Rashford, who I like a lot because he's got that direct threat with his pace but he's also got a nasty streak in him and puts in tackles.
"As a Liverpool man he does worry me in the sense that he could go on and be a top-class player, although from an England perspective it did concern me when Zlatan Ibrahimovic came in because you know he wasn't going to play as much. He's proven that he's willing to be patient, play in different roles and has then grasped his chance when it came.
"Harry Kane completes my line-up, although I'd still have Ibrahimovic ahead of him if he was fit because of his big-game experience. They're quite similar players in that neither of them are the quickest but they can score all sorts of goals and are very strong in the air."
