NEWPORT, Wales -- Tottenham's Eric Dier insists that Alexis Sanchez will not change the course of Wednesday's crunch meeting with Manchester United at Wembley.
Sanchez is expected to make his Premier League bow for United after being named man-of-the-match on his debut in Friday's 4-0 FA Cup fourth-round win at Yeovil Town.
Speaking after Spurs' 1-1 draw with Newport County in the FA Cup, Dier played down the significance of the match and Sanchez's hopes of proving decisive.
"The game as a whole won't change because of one player," he said. "[Sanchez playing] doesn't make a difference to me as a player. I've played against him many times and we all know the quality he has.
"But he's going to add to a Man United squad that is already full of quality. It's going to be a great game, a difficult game, but I don't think one player changes a football match.
"Every game is really important now. It really doesn't matter. The Newport game is just as important as [United and Sunday's trip to Liverpool]."
Spurs now face an unwanted FA Cup fourth-round replay with Newport that is set to be scheduled for Feb. 7 -- three days before the derby clash with Arsenal -- but Dier refused to blame the boggy pitch at Rodney Parade for Saturday's draw and said Spurs were too passive in the first half.
"The pitch was fine from the beginning," he said. "I've played on a lot worse and I think everyone has. Obviously at the beginning you need to get used to it because nowadays we're spoiled in the sense that we never play on a pitch like this one. Once you get into the game, it goes to the back of your mind.
"For the neutral, a very entertaining game. For us, a frustrating one. We didn't want to start the game how we did. I think mentally we were ready for the game, we just weren't positive or aggressive enough and we ended up conceding. From then on, we knew it was going to be more difficult.
"Thankfully we got the equaliser but we couldn't go on to win it. But we've got the replay.
"At half-time, the manager just said to be more positive with the ball, more energy, and reminding us of what this game means.
"Everything about it is different but that's the beauty of the FA Cup. It's a completely different challenge for us and for them. It's an enjoyable experience and we definitely didn't want our journey to finish here.
"You never know what to expect from these teams. Obviously you don't play against them very often so it's a completely new experience. You don't know if they're going to sit off or try to press.
"You have to give a lot of credit to Newport, they had fantastic energy, attitude and aggression. They were really, really good and made it difficult for us. But we should have been doing the same things from the start."