Tottenham Welcome Man United for Last Match at White Hart Lane
Tottenh am Hot spur will aim to consolidate second place in the Premiership as they host Manchester United in the last match to be played at White Hart Lane as they make plans to move to a new ground. Today’s encounter is expected to be a highly emotional affair with Tot ten ham vacating the stadium that has been their home for 118 years and Mauricio Po chettino says his side are‘ focused ’.
He said :“We’ re still disappointed about last Friday. Training from Monday to Wednesday was difficult. We missed a big chance to put pressure on Chelsea. Before that game, we thought it was possible to win the title. We are okay now. We are focused on United.
“Sunday (today) will be special for everyone who loves Tot ten ham, but the future is exciting. It is important we take the soul, smell of WHLto the new stadium. It’s sad and exciting.” United boss Jose Mourinho says that with just 15 players available, changes should be expected with the hectic final weeks his side face where they will play four games - including the Europe League final against Ajax. Mourinho said: “I have to give some minutes to everyone because we have only 15 players, we don’t have more, so I have to play them. But I have to play them mixed. I have to play them by periods and I don’t have another solution. “We can win a trophy and by winning that trophy we can play Champions League next season, so that’ s the game. We are not going to say that matches are not important matches. They are important. But we have one that is more important than others.” Tottenham’s Danny Rose will miss out on a farewell appearance at White Hart Lane as he continues his recovery from a knee injury. The left-back has been sidelined since the 0-0 draw with Sun der land on January 31 and though he has returned to first-team training, the 26- year-old is short of match fitness and won’t be risked.
Pochettino will be without three youngsters for the match; Cameron Carter-Vickers (USA), Joshua On omaha nd Kyle WalkerPeters( both England) have joined up with their respective nations in preparation for the FIFA U20 World Cup.
Alongside Rose, Eric La mel a( hip) and Harry Winks (ankle) continue their rehabilitation and will not feature in the remaining games of the season.
MarouaneF ella i ni serves the final game of his three-match ban and Eric Bail ly is likely to start following his red card against Celta Vigo on Thursday.
Luke Shaw (foot), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (knee), Marcos Rojo (knee), Ashley Young (hamstring) and Timothy Fosu-Mensah (shoulder) are out for the season and the United boss could be tempted to include U 23 star lets A xe lTuanze be and Scott M cT om in a ya ft er the pair made their debuts againstArsenal last weekend.
Spurs’ only win in their last 15 home Premier League games against Manchester United came in last season’s 3-0 victory (D6 L8). That 3-0 defeat for United is the only time they’ve conceded