Tottenham’s expected XI vs Sheffield Utd as Postecoglou makes Richarlison call

Tottenham Hotspur host Sheffield United on Saturday in their first game back after the international break. Last time out, Ange Postecoglou ‘s men battered Burnley 5-2 away from home and find themselves placed second in the table with 10 points. The Blades have had a very different experience so far with three losses and a draw from their opening four games. Express Sport takes you through how we predict Spurs will line up today… It’s unlikely Fraser Forster or Hugo Lloris will take Guglielmo Vicario’s starting place between the sticks. The Italian has had a decent start to life at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since joining from Empoli this summer for £17.2million with two clean sheets in his first four games – and looks at home as Spurs’ new No 1. Defenders –  Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie Postecoglou is likely to stick with his favoured back four of Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie against Sheffield United. This backline has started three out of Spurs’ four opening Premier League fixtures and it isn’t expected to change. The only change that Postecoglou may ponder is the possibility of switching Emerson Royal for Porro to add even more of an attacking threat down their right-hand side.  Ange Postecoglou is unlikely to make many changes to the team that beat Burnley 5-2 last time out (Image: GETTY) Midfielders – Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison Postecoglou is also likely to stick with a midfield trio of Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma and James Maddison. Maddison will play higher up the pitch while Sarr and Bissouma sit deep to allow the Englishman to play with full attacking freedom. Rodrigo Bentacur returned to first-team training on Thursday for the first time since rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee in February. However, he was only able to join the squad for a few warm-up drills and isn’t fully fit just yet. Richarlison is unlikely to make Spurs’ starting XI (Image: GETTY) It’s unlikely Richarlison will get a look in given his poor recent form, and so Heung-min Son, who scored a hat-trick against Burnley last time out, is likely to start down the middle. Meanwhile, Manor Solomon and Dejan Kulusevski are expected to support him on the wings after running riot at Turf Moor. Predicted Spurs starting XI in full: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma,  Maddison ; Kulusevski, Solomon, Son