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Having already beaten the Red Devils 3-0 in the league this season, Postecoglou appeared to relish both the tie and what will be his first encounter with the Portuguese manager. "Good draw, it's a home game," he said.

"For all clubs, it's welcome, no matter who you're playing it's going to be tough. He'll (Amorim) have his feet firmly under the desk at United by then, and I look forward to meeting him."

Ange Postecoglou has revealed Son Heung-min is in line to return for his side's Premier League clash with Aston Villa. Tottenham will host Unai Emery's men on the back of a mixed week, tamely beaten by Crystal Palace last weekend before bouncing back in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Despite missing the South Korean striker and losing Micky van de Ven to a hamstring injury, Spurs held on to beat Manchester City 2-1 and make the quarter-finals.

Cristian Romero also limped off and despite scoring his first goal of the season in the clash, Timo Werner has also since emerged as an injury doubt for Villa.

Postecoglou has now opened up on the condition of the trio who played. In his press conference on Friday, he said: "Main one, is Micky, he has sort of strained his hamstring.

"It's not too serious, but probably after the international break for him. As for Romero and Werner, at the moment, still a chance for the weekend."

Van de Ven was seen crying as he left the field, prompting fears he'd suffered a repeat of the injury that kept him out for three months last season. But Postecoglou insisted his reaction was more down to frustration than pain.

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"He was really looking forward to the game, so he was emotional," said the Australian. "At least it's not a bad one like last time that kept him out for quite a while."

Son, meanwhile, has missed the last three games with a thigh injury, but his manager confirmed he would be involved against Villa providing he comes though another team session. "Sonny has trained today, so if he gets through training tomorrow he should be okay," he added.

After beating City, Tottenham were handed a last eight tie at home to Manchester United. By the time that game takes place in December, Ruben Amorim will be in charge of the visitors having officially been confirmed as their new boss earlier today.

Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven burst into tears after suffering an injury against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup. The 23-year-old was picked to start the match but saw his involvement brought to an abrupt end inside the opening 20 minutes.

Van de Ven was clearly in some pain after going down under the challenge of Savinho and required treatment on the pitch. He eventually managed to climb back to his feet but was moving gingerly while clutching his left hamstring.

It quickly became apparent that he would be unable to continue, forcing Tottenham into an early change. Van de Ven looked distraught as he limped straight down the tunnel, with the Dutchman in tears and being consoled by his team-mates.

Alan Smith, the ex-Arsenal striker, was on commentary duties for Sky Sports and said: "That partnership with [Cristian] Romero is the bedrock of the team. If he's not going to be available, that will be a blow."

Meanwhile, former Everton midfielder Leon Osman was covering the match on BBC Radio 5 Live and insisted that Ange Postecoglou made the right decision by replacing Van de Ven as quickly as possible.

"You don't take any chances with hamstrings," said Osman. "They can't get better, they can only get worse. If you're looking at this Spurs team at the moment, Micky van de Ven is arguably the one player Ange will not want to lose."

It remains to be seen if Van de Ven will be sidelined for any length of time after his early exit against City. The defender has suffered a number of injuries since joining Tottenham from Wolfsburg at the start of last season.

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Postecoglou will certainly be hoping for Van de Ven to make a speedy recovery, with the Aussie hailing him as a 'special footballer' after excelling in Tottenham's big win over Everton earlier this season.

"Outstanding, he's a pretty special footballer." said Postecoglou. "Last year when we had that back four up and running, we were a pretty compelling team, but we also know we can't just keep putting them out there.

"With Romero, Micky and Destiny [Udogie], they're not at peak fitness at the moment and they all sort of missed pre-season. So we knew this two or three weeks, we saw it last week about the 60-minute mark, they really started to fatigue and we've just got to be really careful with them.

"If we can get through the international break, then once the midweek games start, we can start rotating a little bit and, you know, because we need them at the peak of their performance because when they're like that, they're outstanding footballers."

Ange Postecoglou has admitted he was not shocked by Manchester United’s sacking of Erik ten Hag in a blunt verdict. Postecoglou's Tottenham side inflicted a shattering 3-0 defeat of the Red Devils earlier this month, with Ten Hag dismissed a little over three weeks later.

The Australian has admitted that the harsh "nature of football" means he is no longer shocked when managers lose their jobs. Ten Hag was dismissed following a torrid start to the season - both in the Premier League and in the Europa League.

Asked if he was surprised that United let go of the Dutchman, Postecoglou responded: "No not really shocked. It's the nature of football these days."

United sacked Ten Hag on Monday morning, less than 24 hours after he oversaw a 2-1 defeat against West Ham. Other losses against Spurs, Brighton and Liverpool had all but sealed his fate. Ruud van Nistelrooy, appointed as assistant to Ten Hag in the summer, will take charge of their game against Leicester on Wednesday.

Old Trafford chiefs are widely expected to commence advanced talks with Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim. The Portuguese coach has earned a reputation as one of Europe's brightest tactical minds.

If appointed before the weekend, Amorim could face a crunch face game against Chelsea at Old Trafford. The 39-year-old will also need to see a major improve in Europe, where United have drawn all three of their matches in the Europa League league phase.

Meanwhile, Postecoglou is having a tough time of his own. Inconsistent form has seen Spurs thrash Man Utd and West Ham recently, but there have been underwhelming performances in defeats against Brighton and Crystal Palace.

Son Heung-min missed Sunday’s 1-0 defeat against Palace with a thigh injury. The Spurs captain will likely miss tomorrow’s crunch League Cup clash with Manchester City.

However, Postecoglou expects Son to return for Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Aston Villa. The 59-year-old said: “Son is almost fit but probably from our perspective we'll aim for the weekend.”

However, news is less positive for summer signing Wilson Odobert, who has suffered a "serious" setback in his return from a hamstring injury.

"The only other one missing out which is a bit of a disappointment is Wilson, who has had a setback during the week and it seems like it is a serious one so we're just waiting for more information," Postecoglou added. "From the weekend everybody is back and Djed [Spence is] training."

Manchester United can copy Tottenham to solve their woes in front of goal by signing a striker who is a proven scorer in the Premier League. The Red Devils have struggled in the final third this season and had only found the back of the net on seven occasions in the top-flight ahead of their trip to West Ham on Sunday.

United suffered their worst start to a Premier League season after picking up just eight points from their opening seven matches.

That dismal return came after Erik ten Hag had led his side to their lowest points tally of the Premier League era last time around.

Ten Hag managed to keep his job at Old Trafford in the summer after an end-of-season review but has been unable to rectify many of his side’s failings this campaign and is already under huge pressure again.

In the summer, he turned to Joshua Zirkzee in an effort to increase his team’s firepower after the Netherlands striker had scored just 11 goals for Bologna last term.

A year before Zirkzee’s arrival, Rasmus Hojlund was identified as the man to transform the United attack after impressing for Atalanta.

Read more... Premier League star training to become a pilot and helped fly his team-mates

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Hojlund has dazzled in patches but has suffered a series of injury setbacks, while it’s too early to assess the long-term impact Zirkzee could have in the north west. But it’s fair to say the duo haven’t adapted to the Premier League as quickly as Ten Hag would have liked.

United should therefore scrap their strategy of signing talented strikers from across Europe and instead focus their efforts on taking Premier League highflyers to Old Trafford.

Tottenham did exactly that when they completed the signing of Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth in a £65million deal earlier this year. Solanke netted 19 league goals for the Cherries last time around and arrived in the capital having already experienced the demands of top-flight football in England.

Spurs bought the finished article and they paid less than United did for Hojlund. Solanke chipped in with a couple of goals in his first six Premier League matches for Spurs and has slotted into a well-oiled team who don’t appear to have any issues in front of goal.

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The star was even called up to the England squad earlier this month, with Three Lions interim manager Lee Carsley exclaiming: “A player that has done so well at Bournemouth and now he has taken that form into Spurs. He has got a lot of really good attributes that I really like. He’s extremely talented.”

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou will be confident of getting a tune out of Solanke and may well expect the 27-year-old to at least match his tally from last term. Ten Hag, meanwhile, may be wondering where his side’s next goals are coming from.

The likes of Chris Wood, Danny Welbeck and Raul Jimenez are currently showing up the United strikers in the goalscoring charts.

And when the January transfer window opens, the Dutchman may have to roll the dice and persuade a proven Premier League goal machine to jump ship and join him in Manchester. That’s if he still has a job.

Tottenham only have two full days to recover from their Europa League trip to AZ Alkmaar before facing Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Son Heung-min is an injury worry for the Premier League contest, while manager Ange Postecoglou faces a tough decision over James Maddison, who was substituted at half-time last weekend before Spurs kicked on to demolish West Ham in his absence.

Here, Express Sport takes you through how we think Tottenham will line up at Selhurst Park...

Tottenham predicted XI vs Crystal Palace (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Vicario

Clean sheets may be hard to come by but there are no doubts around Guglielmo Vicario's status as a guaranteed starter ahead of back-up stopper Fraser Forster.

Defence: Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie

Spurs' back-four practically picks itself and it has done since Postecoglou was appointed. Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie provide attacking threat down the flanks, Cristian Romero brings aggression in the centre and Micky van de Ven's recovery pace is invaluable to the north Londoners.

Midfield: Kulusevski, Bissouma, Maddison

Postecoglou could do any number of things with his midfield three, but dropping Dejan Kulusevski is not one of them. The Swedish international has been Spurs' standout player so far this season and he feels that the middle of the park is his natural position, despite being used primarily out wide since signing from Juventus.

Yves Bissouma has likely done enough to keep his place as the deep-sitting player ahead of Rodrigo Bentancur. Then comes Maddison.

There is no doubting that Tottenham were much improved when he made way for Pape Sarr against the Hammers. But Palace have not won a single game all season, so Postecoglou can afford to be forward-thinking and allow Maddison the chance to build on his haul of five goal contributions in eight games.

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Attack: Johnson, Solanke, Werner

Son did not travel to the Netherlands for Thursday's meeting with AZ after last weekend's match left him feeling 'sore'. Postecoglou confirmed on Friday that Son is unlikely to feature against Palace, meaning Timo Werner is likely to play on the left flank.

For the remaining two positions, Richarlison and Wilson Odobert are now back in the mix after making full recoveries. Nevertheless, both have work to do to displace Brennan Johnson on the right and Dominic Solanke through the middle.

Tottenham have been fined £20,000 for their part in a fiery mass brawl during their 4-1 Premier League win over West Ham on Saturday. The incident came late on with Mohammed Kudus sent off after an altercation with Micky van de Ven.

Both teams were charged by the Football Association after the game. Kudus, dismissed for violent conduct, was charged with improper conduct for an incident involving Richarlison and Pape Matar Sarr following his red card.

The West Ham forward potentially faces an extended ban on top of the three matches he will miss for being sent off for violent conduct. As players confronted him for his challenge on Van de Ven, for which he saw red, the former Ajax player knocked down Richarlison before shoving Sarr.

Tottenham have accepted responsibility for their part in the incident and the FA say that they accepted the standard penalty. West Ham and Kudus await to find out if they will also be punished.

Kudus initially opened the scoring for West Ham but Julen Lopetegui's side lost control and spiralled towards another dismal defeat. Dejan Kulusevski scored before half-time and a trio of goals across an eight-minute second-half spell handed Spurs a comfortable triumph.

Tensions boiled over in the 82nd minute when Kudus kicked out and hit Van de Ven in the face. The Ghana international was initially shown a yellow card.

However, a VAR review upgraded the punishment to a red card, while a further melee ensued. Richarlison fell to the ground after clashing with Kudus, before the West Ham man shoved Sarr.

Kudus may now face an extended ban after being accused of acting in an improper and/or violent manner following his dismissal. The FA generally take a dim view of further aggressions.

Kudus' absence leaves West Ham with a major issue in attack. Summer signing Niclas Fullkrug is reportedly returning to Germany in an attempt to solve his injury woes.

The 31-year-old is yet to start a Premier League match since his £27.5million arrival from Borussia Dortmund. He has not appeared since September due to a calf problem.

Lopetegui is already under pressure to drastically improve results having only overseen two wins in eight matches. The Spaniard, appointed to succeed David Moyes during the summer, has his side 15th in the Premier League despite strong backing during the transfer window.

Former Leeds United director of football Victor Orta is reportedly keen to reunite with Tottenham youngster Archie Gray.

Orta, now in charge of Sevilla's transfer operation, was still at Elland Road when Gray began knocking on the door of the senior side. And the Spaniard has continued tracking his progress since returning to La Liga.

Gray has earned starts in cup competitions and featured in a range of positions under Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, but Premier League minutes remain hard to come by, and he has only been given 34 of them eight matches into the campaign.

According to Mucho Deporte, Orta is 'asking about' the possibility of signing Gray in January with the promise of regular action in Spain's top division. The report adds that Sevilla are 'working on' the operation ahead of the winter window.

A loan exit would be the only feasible option given that Spurs view Gray as a future star, and they forked out £30million to sign him less than four months ago. It remains to be seen whether the north Londoners would even entertain the possibility of a temporary exit.

Gray was virtually ever-present for Leeds in the Championship last season, racking up minutes in central midfield and at right-back. The Durham-born talent even played in central defence on Tottenham's trip to Ferencvaros earlier this month.

Heading into this season, Gray was expected to provide cover for Pedro Porro at right-back. But with Djed Spence reviving his Tottenham career, and plenty of central midfielders already battling it out for minutes, Spurs may feel that they can afford to offload Gray for the second part of the campaign.

And any apprehension from Postecoglou would surely be eased by sending Gray to join up with Orta - a figure he knows well. Sevilla are currently 13th in La Liga with three wins from their opening 10 games.

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Spurs, meanwhile, are back in European action this week at home to AZ Alkmaar. Gray has played every minute of Tottenham's Europa League campaign so far, with a flawless start leaving them third in the overall standings.

The 18-year-old was also given a brief run-out in the 4-1 victory over West Ham on Saturday, as he got one over on former Leeds team-mate Crysencio Summerville before a wholesome post-game catch-up.

Pep Guardiola’s side could also prevent there from even being a race to sign Delap as they also negotiated a buy-back clause in the deal which would see Ipswich make a healthy profit nonetheless. City are said to be monitoring the situation closely.

The reigning Premier League champions currently only have Erling Haaland as their natural striker option after allowing Julian Alvarez to join Atletico Madrid over the summer. City assessed several replacement options before signing Ilkay Gundogan and ruling that the German international, along with several other midfielders, are capable of playing as a makeshift striker if Haaland is rested or sidelined with injury.

However, with Delap already thriving, they could quickly change their tune and bring him back to the Etihad Stadium if they desire, much to the frustration of Spurs.

Harry Kane recently overlooked the best young players from Arsenal and Tottenham when asked to name his favourite emerging talent. The 31-year-old is Tottenham's finest academy product, having progressed through their ranks on his way to becoming one of the world's best strikers.

The north Londoners have plenty of talented youngsters on their hands, including the likes of Mikey Moore and Lucas Bergvall. Arsenal, meanwhile, have consistently produced top players with Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly leading the next generation.

Kane, however, singled out a Crystal Palace starlet when asked by Goal to name a young player people should be keeping an eye on. During a round of quick-fire questions, the England captain showed little hesitation as he simply responded: "Adam Wharton."

Wharton joined Palace at the start of this year and made an instant impact with his assured displays in the middle of the park. He was rewarded with a place in the England squad at Euro 2024 but did not play a single minute at the tournament.

The 20-year-old enjoyed dinner with Kane during his time in camp, according to the Daily Mail, with the pair clearly fond of each other. He has also been hailed by Palace veteran Joel Ward, who believes the young midfielder can reach the very top.

Ward told talkSPORT: "I think he's got the world at his feet. He's a young lad and he's very mature, very wise. He plays the game, reads the game and understands the game so well. His ability on the ball, his vision and what he's seeing ahead of time is pretty impressive."

Wharton has played nearly every game for Palace this season but has been nursing a groin injury he sustained over the summer. Medical staff have been weighing up the idea of Wharton having surgery, but that would mean losing him for an indefinite period of time.

Palace boss Oliver Glasner recently confirmed that Wharton was taking painkillers to help manage the injury, which could require further treatment if the pain continues to deteriorate.

"At the moment, it’s okay," said Glasner. "He can do all the training sessions with pain, some days more, some days less. He is really the first guy [into the training ground] in the morning, together with Marc [Guehi].

"He is here in the morning and leaving very late [after] a lot of treatment, so he’s very professional. I have a lot of respect for him for how he deals with this, but we need him. He knows this. We hope it gets better but, to be honest, it doesn’t look like that."

James Maddison has been warned that he must elevate his performance to maintain his spot in Tottenham's starting line-up.

The midfielder was substituted at the interval of Spurs' victory over West Ham on Saturday. Maddison struggled to impact the game, which was evenly poised at 1-1 going into half-time following Dejan Kulusevski's leveller after Mohammed Kudus opened the scoring for the Hammers.

As the half-time whistle sounded, Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou was seen signalling to Pape Sarr to inform him of his impending introduction. Maddison was the player replaced, despite having assisted Kulusevski's goal.

However, it turned out to be a masterstroke, with Spurs netting three goals to secure a commanding 4-1 triumph. And ex-Chelsea player Tony Cascarino believes Maddison is now at risk of losing his starting berth.

"He [Postecoglou] has put the challenge of changing Tottenham's mentality and notoriously soft centre on his shoulders. I liked that he was prepared to make a big call and withdraw James Maddison at half-time," Cascarino told The Times.

"It would have sent a message to every player that their place is not assured after the Brighton debacle. Maddison was a big signing last year and I have no doubt he would have taken the timing of the substitution personally. Postecoglou can manage the situation.

"But Maddison may reflect on his delivery, especially from corners, and work rate. Maddison is no longer a promising young player. He turns 28 next month and needs to impose himself on matches. He finds himself out of the England squad and his starting place for Spurs is no longer guaranteed."

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Postecoglou stood firm on his tactical choices post-match, praising Sarr's impact in the midfield tussle. "We needed more running power in midfield and Pape [Sarr] has lots of that, bags of energy and running. He really helped us to get control of the midfield and that gave us a good platform to go forward," the Australian coach told Match of the Day.

"Our general play improved from there and we looked dangerous going forward. We knew there had been a bit of an arm wrestle and we always back ourselves to keep going at the intensity we always do and upping it and taking the game to West Ham.

"We knew that putting them under pressure here at home we would eventually get there. We had to fight hard in the first half. Going a goal down wasn't ideal but we clawed our way back into it, and it is not easy.

"Second half we were outstanding. We upped the tempo and played some quality football, defended when we needed to and got our finishing right. We want to be that sort of side that creates lots of chances."