By Jake Palmer
This Wednesday at 8pm, Manchester United will face Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final. The final will be held at the home of Spanish side Athletic Bilbao in the Estadio de San Mames. Both clubs have endured their worst seasons in the Premier League era with the clubs sitting in 16th and 17th in the league.
Both clubs have previous success in this competition. Manchester United won the trophy in 2017 when they defeated Ajax. Tottenham Hotspur won this competition twice in 1972 and 1984.
The Europa League gives these teams the opportunity to rescue their season and gain qualification to the Champions League. This game will also prove crucial for both the under-pressure managers.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglu has been close to the sack throughout the season with Spurs, losing a whopping 21 League matches this season. He could potentially save his job if he can end Tottenham Hotspur’s long-awaited journey for silverware and deliver them their first trophy since 2008. Ange Postecoglu claimed that “I don’t usually win things; I always win things in my second year”.
This is the home of Tottenham Hotspur, the club are hosting a screening inside the stadium for the fans who could not attend the match in Bilbao with cheap tickets priced from £10 or under. The new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium holds just under 63,000 supporters.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has had a turbulent start to managerial life in England. He left a Sporting Lisbon side in November who had a 100% league win rate when he left. Things have not translated the same way in the Premier League.
Amorim’s side has only managed six league wins since he took charge and are currently on Manchester United’s longest winless run in the Premier League, going eight games without a win.
It has been a very different story for United in Europe this season. Manchester United have remained unbeaten in Europe all the way throughout the build-up to the final. Tottenham on the other hand have only lost twice, 3-2 away to Galatasaray in the group stages and a 1-0 away loss to AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of the Round of 16.
The other finalists stadium, Manchester United play at Old Trafford and will be hoping to play their game at home to Aston Villa on Sunday in front of 75,000 fans having been crowned Europa League champions .
I spoke with Tottenham Hotspur fan Evan Johnson who had this to say about the game,
“It’s the biggest game in decades for us to be honest, yes, we played Liverpool in the Champions League in 2019 but the repercussions this could have on the club are massive, if we finish 17th in the league, it will be the worst season I’ve seen in my life and will make it so hard to keep our best players and sign new players to get us out of trouble”
“I want Ange out regardless of what happens because i have seen enough of him now to know that his football does not work well in this league and that he can’t manage a squad properly, the injuries we have had this season is almost laughable but main reason I want him out is because the results never improved when the injured players returned”
Finally, I asked for his prediction,
“I am going to go with my heart and not my head, I’m saying that we win 2-1 in extra time, even though we have some big players missing I have to believe we can do it”
Both these teams reached the final with relative ease, Tottenham had some pressure on their second leg as they travelled to Bodo/Glimt with a 3-1 lead but left Norway 2-0 winners on the night and 5-1 winners overall having won 3-0 win in London the week before.
Manchester United should feel more at home in Bilbao as they played the semi-finals against Athletic Bilbao and ran away comprehensively with a 3-0 win in Spain and then won 4-1 at Old Trafford to seal their place in the final. Manchester United have won two trophies in the last two seasons, winning the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. This winning experience may give Manchester United players a slight advantage on the night.
Although some people believe United have an advantage due to pedigree and recent success Tottenham Hotspur have dominated the recent encounters between these two clubs. They have faced each other three times this season with Spurs winning all three matches. They beat them 1-0 and 3-0 in the Premier League whilst also knocking United out of the Carabao Cup in a 4-3 thriller.
With it all to play for and so much on the line this game is set up to be a thrilling encounter with one team saving their season and the other left with nothing but despair.
Injury News
Injuries have been the theme of Tottenham Hotspur’s season, and it has continued to affect their season right up until this final. In Bilbao they will be missing three key players. James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall will all miss the game against United. Club captain Heung-Min Son will be available for selection having returned from injury in recent weeks.
Manchester United will be without two key defenders, Lisandro Martinez who is not expected back until 2026 misses out unsurprisingly whilst Matthijs De Ligt will be absent following a recent knee injury. Manchester United have been given a boost as Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro have been declared fit to feature on Wednesday night.
Manchester United’s Route to the Final
Group Phase- 3rd place Finish
Round of 16- Real Sociedad (5-2 aggregate win)
QF- Lyon (7-6 aggregate win)
SF- Athletic Club (7-1 aggregate win)
Tottenham Hotspur’s Route to final
Group Phase- 4th place finish
Round of 16- AZ Alkmaar (3-2 aggregate win)
QF- Eintracht Frankfurt (2-1 aggregate win)
SF- Bodo/Glimt (5-1 aggregate win)
