Premier League: How Tottenham Hotspur Will Line Up Against Manchester United

Stick or twist. After the humiliation of last weekend's defeat to Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas will be pondering where alterations could and should be made to his team for Sunday's visit of Manchester United.

A week of media speculation surrounding the Portuguese's future in North London has seen his tactics and the use of his players come under intense examination. City's 6-0 thrashing of Tottenham would suggest a different approach is in order. Unfortunately for Villas-Boas, it is not as simple as changing a losing team. 

Spurs' inconsistency this season has made it difficult to figure out what the closest thing to their best starting XI is. Unhelpfully, this has been in part because of the frequent changes made to achieve said aim.

Predicting how Villas-Boas will set up his side this week is trickier than it has been all year. The challenge posed by the reigning champions will necessitate some serious thought as Spurs look for a much improved display.

Although Man United are attempting to establish some consistency of their own, the quality of performance the Red Devils are more than capable of summoning was evident in their 5-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.

David Moyes' squad might not have the best depth of Premier League title hopefuls, but its first choice players—from the revitalised Wayne Rooney and the lethal Robin van Persie to the newly turned 40-year-old Ryan Giggs—are still among the division's best.

Villas-Boas demonstrated his squad's depth (which does not seem so impressive with the form not matching) by making nine changes for Thursday night's 2-0 Europa League win over Tromso. Although players were left behind either to be rested or—in the cases of Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon—as a precaution against exacerbating old injuries on the artificial turf, it would be foolish to read too much into what the team selection for that game meant for United.

Despite his humbling experience on the receiving end of Man City's goal frenzy, Hugo Lloris remains as close to a nailed-on starter as Spurs have. A similarly certain selection is right-back Kyle Walker, with his deputy Kyle Naughton failing to convince he has anything to offer versus Tromso.

In central defence, it would be somewhat surprising if Villas-Boas dropped his captain, Michael Dawson. Neither he nor Younes Kaboul played well against City, but the chance to re-establish Dawson's burgeoning partnership with Vlad Chiriches (both of them also played in Norway) should give him the nod.

According to BBC Sport, Danny Rose remains out, meaning Jan Vertonghen is likely to continue at left-back. The same preview marks Emmanuel Adebayor as a "doubt because of a groin injury" and Harry Kane definitely absent, possibly leaving any plans for a big man/little man combination up front (as briefly tested last weekend) on the shelf for the time being.

Assuming Adebayor does not make it, Roberto Soldado will probably be left to try his luck alone up front again—even having played 90 minutes on Thursday. Another quiet showing might lead to Jermain Defoe being handed a second Premier League start this season for Fulham on Wednesday.

In midfield and on the wings, the myriad of possibilities on offer here make predicting Villas-Boas' selections correctly akin to guessing lottery numbers.

Okay, exaggerated though that assessment might be, it speaks to no combination definitively coming to the fore for more than a few games at a time this season.

Paulinho and Sandro were among those given the night off in the Europa League, so it stands to reason they will return to the starting lineup for this one—even if Villas-Boas' selection logic does not always reflect this formula.

You could argue the merits for any one of Mousa Dembele, Lewis Holtby, Gylfi Sigurdsson or even Nacer Chadli joining them in a midfield trio. Dembele's previous form against Manchester United, along with his greater proclivity for combining attacking flair and combativity, might appeal more to Villas-Boas as he looks for his team to take hold of this game.

A three-man midfield of Dembele, Paulinho and Sandro would put an extra onus on the team's wingers to create and offer a general threat in the final third.

Lennon has been there and done it in these kind of games, and he offers more width than any of his teammates can claim. Although he fell away as the game progressed against City, he might benefit here from playing a second straight league game for the first time all season.

It leaves one position to be filled.

After being dropped for Man City, Andros Townsend showed an eagerness to bring more all-round wing play to the table versus Tromso, increasingly attacking outside the full-back while still looking dangerous on forays inside.

With no one else other than Chadli, Sigurdsson or Erik Lamela proving as effective this season (for a variety of reasons), Townsend might be rewarded for Thursday's efforts. This might even be the game he is tried on the left.

Tottenham took four points off Man United last season, something their official Twitter page made sure to reference on Friday:

Having failed to beat Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton or Manchester City this season, Villas-Boas would welcome a big win here. After the City loss though, just not getting battered by United would be a marked improvement.