Chris Smalling says Manchester United must improve on their performance from earlier in the year if they are to beat Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final at the weekend.

The pair face off at Wembley on Saturday afternoon – the third time they have done so this season.

Their first meeting back in October ended in a 1-0 victory for United, courtesy of Anthony Martial’s late goal, however when the sides met again in January, it was Tottenham who came out on top.

A Christian Eriksen strike and an own goal from Phil Jones sealed a 2-0 win for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, and Smalling says his side must do better this time around if they are to avoid defeat.

“Obviously, we started very slowly in that game and they got the early goal, which put us on the back foot,” Smalling explained to MUTV.

“We couldn’t really get back into the game, even though, in the second half, we were a lot better. But when we are on the front foot, like the home game when we played them at Old Trafford, when you get after them, that’s not something that they like.

“I think they like to control the game at their own tempo but if we can get after them and disrupt them, we’ve seen that we can beat them.

“I think everybody can expect an exciting game because there is obviously a lot at stake. Both teams will be tactically spot-on and then it’s up to the high-class individuals that each team has got to produce something special. It wouldn’t surprise me if that was how the game was decided.”