CHIGWELL, England, (Reuters) – Brazilian international midfielder Sandro will make his long-awaited debut for Tottenham Hotspur in re-shuffled side against arch-rivals Arsenal in their League Cup tie at White Hart Lane today.
Sixteen third round ties are being played today and tomorrow with Chelsea facing Newcastle United, Stoke City playing Fulham, Sunderland hosting West Ham United, Aston Villa playing Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion facing Manchester City in the other all-Premier League ties.
Holders Manchester United, who beat Aston Villa in last season’s final and are bidding for a hat-trick of wins in the competition, play at Championship (second division) Scunthorpe United tomorrow, the first ever meeting between the clubs.
The outstanding game though is the north London derby between Spurs and Arsenal, even though Spurs manager Harry Redknapp and his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger will be shuffling their sides because of Champions League commitments.
Redknapp told reporters at a media briefing at Spurs training ground north of London yesterday that he will give a debut to Croatian goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa, on loan from Spartak Moscow, and Sandro.
A highly-promising central midfielder who made his debut for Brazil last year, Sandro was chased by a host of clubs before signing for Spurs.
“He’s just come from a tough season in Brazil where Internacional won the championship,” said Redknapp.
