Benjamin Šeško has started on the bench for Manchester United in their Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
Michael Carrick will be eager for Manchester United’s impressive run of form to continue this afternoon, with Tottenham Hotspur arriving at Old Trafford.
The former United midfielder has enjoyed a strong start in the dugout, guiding his side to eye-catching victories over Manchester City, Arsenal, and Fulham. Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, and Bruno Fernandes have all rediscovered top form, helping to fuel United’s resurgence.
Sitting fourth in the Premier League, United are firmly in the hunt for a Champions League spot, and Spurs’ visit presents another golden chance to claim three points and maintain their attacking rhythm.
Tottenham, meanwhile, have endured a far more difficult campaign. Despite earning a creditable 2-2 draw against City last weekend, they remain languishing in 14th place. When the sides last met in North London earlier this season, a late strike from Matthijs de Ligt salvaged a 2-2 draw for United.
The starting line-ups have now been confirmed, with Carrick opting to include Amad in the forward line, while Benjamin Šeško begins the contest on the bench.
Carrick reveals two reasons why Šeško doesn’t start vs Spurs
Carrick decided to use an unchanged lineup for this clash and not many people can blame him. The famous saying goes, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.
But some may also feel that Šeško is unfortunate to miss out on starting after his injury-time winner against Fulham last weekend.
“Yeah, listen, Ben’s done fantastic and he’s going to be a big player here for a long time and I’ve been really, really impressed with him,” Carrick said of Šeško in his pre-match interview with TNT Sports.
“What we’ve seen in training as well and his attitude and everything. Everything about him actually is really encouraging.
“It was a huge moment for him last week and I’m sure he’ll have more of those. And today was just the decision as you’d expect, but, you know, Ben will come on and make a difference again for us.”
Šeško’s impact needed to change game
Carrick has made it clear that he is not only benching Šeško because of the other options, but more important, he is thinking about his potential impact off the bench.
In the first two games against City and Arsenal, it was Matheus Cunha who started from the bench and made an impact and it was Šeško last time out.
Premier League games are always tight and you need to be thinking about how substitutes can change the match in your favour in the latter stages.
It won’t be a role that Šeško will want for the long-term but as Carrick mentioned, the young striker will be an important player at Old Trafford for many years.
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