The team news is in for both sides of this weekend’s headliner Premier League fixture. Both Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho and Manchester United leader Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have selected their first teams, and you can see the starting line-ups embedded below.
The main storyline, in regards to United team selection, is the goalkeeper position battle between Dean Henderson and David de Gea. Dean Henderson has retained his spot as the No. 1 today.
Tottenham ? Man Utd
Will Solskjaer get revenge for the 6-1 or will Mourinho come out on top again? ?
The teams ? #TOTMUN pic.twitter.com/XxBqPqzYHQ
— GOAL (@goal) April 11, 2021
And that means we’ll probaby see De Gea starting in between the sticks on Thursday in the Europa League against Granada. Speculation about the future of De Gea at the club will probably only ramp up during the run in.
Solskjaer made only one change from the team that beat Brighton, Scott McTominay in for Mason Greenwood. Another storyline to watch here is United captain Harry Maguire vs. his national teammate Harry Kane. This narrative came up in the prematch press conference.
? "It's challenge I'm looking forward to."
Harry Maguire on facing his England teammate Harry Kane #TOTMUN pic.twitter.com/w1GE2TIZo0
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 11, 2021
Yes, in this match, we’re just wild about Harry. Tottenham need to win here or they risk losing further ground in the race for top four, and they’ll only have seven games left after today to make up that differential.
As for United, Leicester City have already lost today, so this encounter provides a chance to widen their lead in second place over the Foxes.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.