It feels as if Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure as Tottenham Hotspur boss has been building to this game. The Lilywhites have improved exponentially under the Argentine, but their progress is yet to be rewarded with silverware.

Whereas the last two Premier League titles proved a little beyond a young and emerging team though, this season’s FA Cup is a slightly different; this Tottenham side now have the maturity and experience to match their undeniable talent, not to mention a unique familiarity with Wembley.

And with Liverpool and Manchester City already eliminated, the north London club have a great chance of claiming the 2017/18 trophy – provided they can steer past Manchester United in this weekend’s semi-final.

In order to do that, however, Pochettino will have to find the right answers to these three key questions ahead of Saturday’s showdown.

Are Spurs better off without Harry Kane starting?

It may seem a bizarre question considering Kane – who Transfermarkt value at £108million – is arguably the greatest centre-forward in the world right now. But the England international just hasn’t been sharp since returning from injury, his two goals tellingly enough being the faintest of touches off his shoulder and a finish into an open goal against Brighton.

Tottenham have failed to win two of their last three with Kane starting and when you compare that to their performances during his absence, there’s a key difference. Against Bournemouth, Swansea and Chelsea, the sheer fluidity of Tottenham’s attack proved too much for the opposition – Spurs netting ten times during those three games.

Kane’s return seems to have taken away some of that zip going forward, and this United defence will feel more comfortable battling the less mobile 24-year-old than the likes of Heung-min Son challenging the space behind them.

 How can Spurs contain Romelu Lukaku?

Lukaku’s struggled to convince at times during his first season with United but there’s no denying the Belgium international’s rich vein of form in recent months, scoring or assisting in 14 of his last 19 games across all competitions. Of course, one of those excepting outings was United’s 2-0 defeat to Spurs at Wembley in January, when Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez firmly held their own.

But it feels like the Red Devils and their star striker are in a slightly better place this time around, and Lukaku’s confidence since that defeat has steadily grown – especially after his to knockdowns created both of United’s goals against Liverpool in the Northwest derby.

Sanchez isn’t the most imposing in the air – he’s won just 2.5 aerial duels per match this season – so perhaps it’s worth keeping Toby Alderweireld in the team after starting against Brighton in midweek, although that seems unlikely considering how his season has panned out. A more plausible alternative is using Eric Dier as a defensive shield; sitting just in front of Lukaku to essentially become a third centre-back and squeeze him out of the game.

How can Tottenham keep their width?

Last weekend it was Manchester United who failed to exploit the space out wide in their shock defeat to West Brom, but Tottenham could find themselves suffering a similar problem this weekend. Spurs have the second-highest bias of any Premier League team this season for attacking through the centre of the pitch and that has seen them come unstuck at times throughout the campaign, especially at Wembley.

Mourinho will be more than aware of that and should he take a typically pragmatic approach to this game, it will probably translate into a narrow defensive block that Spurs will have to try and play through.

Accordingly, it’s essential Pochettino ensures there’s still some width to Tottenham’s play to stretch the game and create more room in central areas – or else they could find themselves suffering a similar fate to the Red Devils last Sunday.

Tottenham’s width comes from the full-backs, so it’s crucial Ben Davies and Kieran Trippier push up as high as possible when United allow them to. But it could also be a question of springing a surprise selection on the Red Devils in attacking midfield – while Son, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen all like to cut inside, Lucas Moura has the pace to hug the line and draw defenders towards him.

It seems unlikely the Brazilian will start, but he could be a crucial substitution for Spurs.

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