Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur do battle on Wednesday evening as Jose Mourinho makes his first return to Old Trafford since his departure 12 months ago.

Having been appointed as the successor to Mauricio Pochettino in November, Mourinho has guided Spurs to victories over West Ham United, Olympiacos and Bournemouth respectively.

Two of those results have helped the North London outfit into fifth position in the Premier League standings, two points ahead of United.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team have dropped further off the pace after being held to draws by both Sheffield United and Aston Villa.

Here, Sports Mole selects its strongest combined XI from the two squads, using only players available for Wednesday's game.

While Paulo Gazzaniga has performed solidly since replacing the injured Hugo Lloris, the selection of David de Gea is a certainty here with the Spaniard having made a number of impressive saves in recent weeks.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka possesses a more well-rounded game at full-back, and that has led to the United player getting the nod over the attack-minded Serge Aurier.

On the opposite flank, United academy graduate Brandon Williams is preferred to Danny Rose, who is still struggling to hold down a regular place at Spurs even in the absence of Ben Davies.

While Davinson Sanchez and Victor Lindelof had claims for a place in the centre, we have gone for Toby Alderweireld and Harry Maguire, who have produced more consistent performances than their defensive partners.

Due to his imminent return from an ankle problem, Scott McTominay is our priority pick in midfield, and Harry Winks features ahead of Tanguy Ndombele due to a technically-gifted player being required to complement the United man.

After bursting into life since Mourinho's arrival, Dele Alli is an obvious pick in the number 10 role, while Spurs teammate Son Heung-min takes a spot on the right flank.

The switch in sides comes as a result of Marcus Rashford needing to be picked on the left in order to accommodate Harry Kane.

While Rashford arguably deserves to be named as the frontline striker having contributed more goals and assists than Kane during this season's Premier League, we simply cannot leave out the long-serving Spurs talisman.