da pinnacle： Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to avoid another shock FA Cup fifth-round exit as they head to Championship outfit Sheffield United this evening.
da poker： Exactly 12 months ago, Antonio Conte’s side were knocked out at this very stage by fellow second-tier side Middlesbrough, with Josh Coburn netting in extra time and the Lilywhites will be hoping to go one better this time, though in the absence of the Italian head coach.
Spurs assistant manager Cristian Stellini is set to take the dugout once again, having steered the Lilywhites squad to back-to-back Premier League victories, defeating Chelsea and West Ham United, both by a 2-0 margin.
He’ll be left with a tough decision to make in terms of team selection as there will be a temptation to rotate, given the fixture list that lies ahead, in which a second leg against AC Milan in the Champions League will soon be on the horizon.
With that in mind, here’s how Tottenham could look at Bramall Lane tonight…
How will Tottenham line up against Sheffield United?
There could be as many as five changes to the side that defeated the out-of-sorts Blues on Sunday, starting with backup goalkeeper Fraser Forster continuing between the sticks in the absence of injured veteran, Hugo Lloris.
In defence, Davinson Sanchez could afford Cristian Romero some rest, so the Colombian enters the back three alongside Eric Dier and Clement Lenglet, who is preferred as one of the only left-footed central defenders at the club.
There could be a pair of alterations on the flanks, with Ivan Perisic and Pedro Porro offering fresh legs over Emerson Royal and Ben Davies, whilst the latter duo have been in fine knick, it’s a great chance to see more of the January signing and the Croatian should be a cut above the opposition too.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg may remain in the engine room, given he was suspended for the first leg against Milan, so Oliver Skipp is dropped instead. In his place, Pape Matar Sarr – who excelled against the Rossoneri – makes another start outside of the Premier League.
Stellini has hinted that Harry Kane will feature from the off despite the upcoming schedule and he could start alongside Richarlison, who also keeps his place and another winter arrival in the form of Arnaut Danjuma, 26.
The £53k-per-week Villarreal loanee, who was once dubbed as a “game-changer” by his former boss Eddie Howe, has been restricted to only three appearances, of which none have been starts and he did score a goal in the last round against Preston North End too.
Predicted Spurs XI (3-4-3): Forster; Lenglet, Dier, Sanchez; Perisic, Hojbjerg, Sarr, Porro; Richarlison, Danjuma, Kane