No Wembley cup advantage insists Pochettino

Spurs will not have any advantage in this weekends FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley insists Mauricio Pochettino.

We face United on Saturday in a stadium we have called home this season, while White Hart Lane is redeveloped, and against United we will be using the away dressing room, with the manager claiming it will be a level playing field.

“Of course, we feel at home,” the Argentine tactician said at his pre-match press conference. “But it’s different to when we play in the Premier League.

“I don’t believe [we will have an advantage] because Manchester United have the experience to play at Wembley, too. It’s not an event just for us.I think it will be a typical cup game at Wembley – half Tottenham and half Manchester United. I don’t believe we are going to have some advantage for that.”

Saturday’s match will be United’s 29th appearance in an FA Cup semi-final, with their most reason win in the competition coming in 2016, while for us we have lost our last seven FA Cup semi-finals and last lifted the trophy in 1991.

We have won three of our last five meetings with Man Utd in all competitions however Mauricio Pochettino was coy when given his usual pre-match grilling about Toby Alderweireld, the Belgium defender who started his first Premier League match in almost six months in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Brighton.

“I need to decide the starting XI and the players in contention,” he said.”I am going to decide [on Friday]. I have still not decided. We need to assess players after the [Brighton] game. At training today, everyone was good. Only Harry Winks and Danny Rose are still out, but the rest [are fit]. Now we need to decide.”

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