Man United & Tottenham Hotspur combined XI

Ahead of their Premier League match on September 29, Ladbrokes shares its Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur combined XI.

Tottenham and Man United sit in 10th and 11th place in the Premier League table respectively, with five games having been played, so both Ange Postecoglu and Erik ten Hag will be eager to leave Old Trafford on Sunday with all three points.

Ahead of the big game, which pits two of England’s biggest clubs against each other, Ladbrokes makes the ultimate combined XI from both sides, with the likes of Heung-min Son, Marcus Rashford, James Maddison and Bruno Fernandes all featuring.

When Guglielmo Vicario joined Tottenham from Empoli last summer, even the most hardcore of Spurs fans wouldn’t have expected the Italian shotstopper to be as good as he has been in the Premier League so far, with even neutral fans feeling as if he was one of the standout goalkeepers from last season.

However, in spite of that, we’re going with Andre Onana has the man between the sticks in this combined XI. He may not be having the best time since joining United, there’s no getting away from that, but Onana was one of the world’s best keepers for quite some time at Inter Milan, driving them to the Champions League final in 2023, which they narrowly lost out to Man City.

It seems like the former Ajax man is short of confidence right now, like many of his teammates, but in terms of talent and natural ability, he’s one of the very best in the world, and is more than worthy of a spot in this combined XI.

Formerly of Manchester City, now of Tottenham, it’s Pedro Porro who we’ve picked as the right-back to go into this team.

Porro is one of the most impressive attacking full-backs in the world right now, and often contributes to Spurs’ offensive play. Fans have been impressed with how well the Spaniard has adapted to playing more centrally over the last year, something Ange has always asked his full-backs to do, dating back to his time at Celtic.

Cristian Romero has come on leaps and bounds over the last 12 months, and a lot of that has to do with the responsibility Postecoglu has given to the World Cup winner.

Following the exit of Harry Kane and the demotion of Hugo Lloris, Romero was added to Spurs’ leadership group, alongside Son and new signing Maddison, and he took his new role incredibly seriously, becoming more mature as a result.

Romero is comfortable on the ball, something all modern centre-backs need to be, but he never runs away from a tackle either, making him perfect for a starting spot in this combined XI.

Whilst Micky van de Ven has been incredibly impressive since joining Tottenham, it’s Lisandro Martinez who slots into the second centre-back slot in our combined XI ahead of this weekend’s big game.

There’s no denying that a partnership Martinez and Romero would have fans on their edge of their seats, but both men are far too talented and special to leave out of this team.

With Nicolas Otamendi coming to the end of his career too, Lisandro and Cristian could find themselves starting together for Argentina on the international stage before too long.

It’s not long before Destiny Udogie will find himself in this starting XI, as he’s also been great for Tottenham this campaign, but as of right now he’s just edged out by Diogo Dalot, who on his day, is arguably one of the world’s best full-backs.

With Luke Shaw a fitness liability at this stage, Dalot has stood up and been counted for at both left-back and right-back over the last year for United, and was arguably the league's standout fullback last season.

Udogie is one of the world's most exciting fullbacks, and that cannot be forgotten, but as of right now we just edge the pick for Dalot, and we even think Ange Postecoglu would agree.

Man United’s midfield issues are clear for all to see. While Kobbie Mainoo is showing a lot of potential, Ten Hag is crying out for a playing of the quality of Bissouma in the centre of the park.

The midfielder is incredibly important to the way Postecoglu wants to play, and has been impressive this season for Spurs after struggling in his first season following his move from Brighton in the summer of 2022.

He’d walk right into United’s XI, so it’s only fair that he starts in our combined XI. Perhaps with more time under his belt, new signing Manuel Ugarte will feature, but considering he's never started for United in the league, we can't include him in our combined XI.

Arguably the best player playing for either side, Bruno Fernandes is world class, there’s no shying away from that.

Man United’s captain has single-handedly dragged his side to wins over the last few years, despite sometimes being let down by his teammates.

There are few teams in the world who wouldn’t take Fernandes, and you can bet that Postecoglu would be one of the managers to snap your hand off if you offered him the chance to sign the Portuguese international.

James Maddison is simply too good and too talented to leave out of this combined XI, so he completes our attacking-minded midfield.

Just as he was really hitting his stride last campaign, staking a claim for the crown of ‘signing of the season’, Maddison was struck down with an injury, and he hasn't quite hit the same heights since.

However, now that he's moved slightly deeper, Maddison has been top for Tottenham, and would work well with both Bissouma and Fernandes.

Any doubters of Kulusevski will have been silenced after the Swede’s top tier performances so far this season, with the ex-Juventus man impressing in a more central role.

However, it’s the right-wing spot that Kulusevski is placed in for his combined XI. The position has been a big issue for United over the years, one that they haven’t been able to solve, even with the big-money signings of Anthony and Jadon Sancho.

Fantastic on the ball and a very good hand defensively too, helping out his side from the front, it’s hard to look past Dejan, who is only going from strength-to-strength under the guidance of Postecoglu.

He may not have been at this best over the last year or so, but there's no way we could make a combined Tottenham and Man United XI without including Marcus Rashford in it.

The Englishman is short of confidence right now, but on his day few players are as direct, explosive and threatening as the England international, and both Ten Hag and Postecoglu would consider themselves lucky to have a play of Rashford's quality on their books.

Starting as the striker in this combined XI is Spurs’ captain Heung-min Son rather than their actual striker, Dominic Solanke.

Following the departure of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, many fans questioned where Tottenham’s goals would come from this campaign, but Son more than stepped up last season, contributing with 27 goals and assists in 35 Premier League games.

Now that he’s in his 30s, Son seems to have found a way to extend his career by moving more centrally, and that's where he gets into our team. While Dominic Solanke, Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund have a lot of potential and could find themselves as some of the league’s best strikers over the coming years, as of now, Son is the man we’re going for.

As noted, United host Spurs at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon, with the sides hoping to earn a spot in next season's Champions League through finishing in the top four coming May 2025.