After struggling early in Schusters first sseason in

Two midfield all-rounders could decide Tottenhams game against Manchester United at White Hart Lane this Sunday, live on Sky Sports. Tottenham host Manchester United with both sides keen to keep pressure on the sides above them. Mousa Dembele and Morgan Schneiderlin are two players enjoying strong seasons in midfield and both will play crucial roles in this match.The presence of several key English players often generates attention at Spurs, but Dembeles return to form and full fitness has arguably been as integral to their fine season as anything else. The Belgium international has generally partnered Eric Dier in midfield, augmenting much of what Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb produced last year. Spurs midfield comparison Stats per 90 mins Dembele - PL 2015/16 Mason - PL 2014/15 Bentaleb - 2014/15 Tackles 4.5 3.3 2.4 Interceptions 2.3 2.0 2.4 Successful dribbles 3.4 0.7 1.1 Chances created (open play) 1.0 1.0 0.7 Successful passes 51.2 52.1 56.4 Passing accuracy 90% 84% 87% Sprints 49.4 44.9 47.2 Distance covered 10.8km 11.6km 11.2km Dembeles major strength is his tackling; only three players have recorded more tackles in the Premier League this season and only four average more than the Belgians 4.5 per 90 minutes. Most tackles PL 2015/16 Tackles Tackles per 90 mins NGolo Kante (Leicester) 139 5.0 Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa) 123 4.4 Erik Pieters (Stoke) 108 3.5 Mousa Dembele (Tottenham) 96 4.5 Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea) 94 3.3 While this is impressive enough, and a platform from which Tottenham have sprung many attacks this season, its the midfielders actual proficiency in this department that stands out further.Tackles won and lost are easily accessible stats, but they dont reveal a players actual tackling ability. Lost tackles are still successful actions, just ones where the opposing team maintains possession. Therefore, Optas dribbled past category, a stat highlighting when a player is beaten, can be used to explore this better. Challenge success PL 2015/16 Tackles Dribbled past Challenge success Mousa Dembele (Tottenham) 96 8 92.3 Gabriel Paulista (Arsenal) 32 3 91.4% Virgil van Dijk (Southampton) 55 6 90.2% Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham) 37 5 88.1% Wes Morgan (Leicester) 39 6 86.7% Dembele has only been dribbled past eight times while making 96 tackles this season, giving him a 92 per cent success rate which officially classes him as the Premier Leagues hardest man to beat.Furthermore, those near Dembeles ratio havent made anywhere near as many tackles. No player with more than 55 tackles maintains a ratio higher than 85 per cent and the vast majority have been dribbled past at least twice as many times.For example, NGolo Kante leads the way with 139 tackles, but hes been dribbled past on 45 occasions, the tenth most in the division. Similarly, Idrissa Gueye (26 times), Erik Pieters (35) and Cesar Azpilicueta (24) have all been beaten on at least three times as many occasions as Dembele. Jamie Carragher says Dembele should be seen as a top defensive midfielder The Spurs man is not just one of the Premier Leagues most frequent tacklers this season; more importantly, hes been the best.Schneiderlin has similar disruptive responsibilities for Manchester United. While his stats dont quite match up to Dembeles, he still offers the most to his side in this department. Man Utd tackles and interceptions PL 2015/16 Tackles per 90 Interceptions per 90 Tackles and interceptions per 90 Morgan Schneiderlin 3.1 2.9 6.0 Matteo Darmian 3.8 2.0 5.8 Marcos Rojo 2.7 2.7 5.4 Daley Blind 2.8 2.4 5.2 Chris Smalling 1.8 2.9 4.6 Uniteds inconsistencies in attack often detract from the fact they have one of the Premier Leagues best defensive records and Schneiderlin has played his part in that. With the Frenchman involved, United win 54 per cent of games, taking 1.92 points per game, compared to just 29 per cent and one point without him.While United appear more compact with Schneiderlin protecting the defence, hes yet to offer as much in the final third as he did while at Southampton. Given his sides publicised struggles to get shots on target this season, one can understand Louis van Gaals occasional urge to leave the midfielder out in favour of more attacking combinations. Schneiderlin year-on-year Premier League only Man Utd 2015/16 Southampton 2014/15 Goals 1 4 Assists 0 1 Shots 10 30 Chances created 9 20 In a similar amount of time on the pitch, Schneiderlins been directly involved in just one league goal at United, shooting and creating chances far less often than at Southampton, though he took positive steps in this direction against Everton on Sunday.Although Marcos Rashfords back-heel, Timothy Fosu-Mensahs cross and Anthony Martial scoring took the headlines in the move for the only goal of the game, it was Schneiderlins long, defence-splitting pass that prompted the move. Schneiderlin (28) produced the pass for Anthony Martial (9) to score against Everton This more rounded involvement is what Van Gaal and Manchester United fans will hope to see more of from their summer signing over the next few seasons.While Schneiderlin and Dembele wont always be head-to-head on Sunday, charged with screening their respective defences, each man will look to disrupt opposing attackers and switch defence into attack. The player who is more successful at doing that will provide his side with the better platform from which to take the points. Also See: Old Spurs boys to decide title Schneiderlin: Plenty to come Garrett Temple Jersey . Striker Dario Mandzukic scored the opener in the 22nd minute but was given a red card nine minutes later for a reckless tackle and left Croatia with 10 men for the remainder of the match. Jaylen Hands Nets Jersey . A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. 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Kenneth Faried Jersey .Y. - Matt Harvey wants to make sure hes on the mound in late October — if the New York Mets get there for the first time since 2006.MALAGA, Spain -- Malaga eased to a dominant 2-0 win at home over Villarreal on Monday to take a big step toward ensuring both its place in Spains topflight next season and coach Bernd Schusters job. Malagas stout defence limited Villarreal to just one shot on goal, even after the host went down to 10 men for the final 15 minutes when Nordin Amrabat was shown a direct red for vehemently protesting to the referee. Roque Santa Cruz chipped the ball over goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo from a tight angle to open the scoring in the sixth at La Rosaleda Stadium after the striker was played through by Samuel Sanchez. Amrabat then used his pace to race down the left side and waited for Sergi Darder to arrive unmarked in a second wave before he crossed for the midfielder to fire in their second goal in the 53rd. "Perhaps this was our most well-rounded game of the season," Schuster said. "We played well from the first to the last minute. We werent much better than Villarreal, but we controlled them throughout." After struggling early in Schusters first sseason in charge, Malaga has come on late and has won five of its last eight games to escape the fight at the bottom and climb into 10th place with four rounds to go.dddddddddddd The team is not only playing to avoid a last-minute relegation battle. Schusters job at the Costa del Sol side may depend on the side holding onto a top-10 finish. The German managers contract includes a clause that he can be fired if they finish in 11th place or lower. "It has been a difficult year for everyone, and with these three points we can breathe easier," Schuster said. "This was a key day. We have lifted a weight off us. Now, with less pressure, we can improve." Villarreal forward Giovani Dos Santos returned from a four-week injury layoff when he went on as a second-half substitute. Villarreals loss left it in seventh place and holding onto the last Europa League berth, seven points ahead of Valencia. Atletico Madrid leads the league by four points over Barcelona. Real Madrid is another two points behind but with an extra game to play. ' ' '