It’s a battle between two Premier League teams looking to salvage their seasons when Tottenham Hotspur face Manchester United in the Europa League Final on Wednesday.
This competition has proven to be a much-needed tonic for two sides enduring poor domestic form. Sitting in the two places just above the relegation zone, only one point separates 16th-placed United and 17th-placed Spurs.
The recent league form of both sides has been equally poor. Spurs and United have only picked up one point from their last six games, losing the other five.
As a result, winning the Europa League is not only both sides’ only chance of silverware, but it is also their only chance of securing European football next season.
TOTTENHAM VS MAN UTD PREVIEW
Tottenham have the upper hand this season, having won all three encounters between the two sides.
Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored the goals as Spurs ran out 3-0 winners at Old Trafford in September.
They also won 1-0 in north London back in February, a James Maddison goal on 13 minutes proving to be the difference.
These two Premier League games sandwiched a 4-3 success for Spurs in the League Cup just before Christmas. A Solanke brace and a Kulusevski effort fired Tottenham into a 3-0 lead. Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo reduced the arrears, but a Son Heung-min goal two minutes from time made it 4-2. Jonny Evans scored a last gasp goal to make it 4-3.
Spurs rested a number of players in their 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Friday. This means Guglielmo Vicario will return in goal. Rodrigo Bentancur, Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson and Pedro Porro should all be back too.
Son Heung-min started for the first time since recovering from a foot injury and is likely to retain his place in the side.
Lucas Bergvall, Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Timo Werner are all out.
United didn’t rest many players in their 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Friday so changes should be minimal.
Mason Mount and Amad Diallo played well in United’s semi-final second leg against Athletic Bilbao and should feature.
Lisandro Martinez and Joshua Zirkzee are out for the season. Diogo Dalot, Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro are all doubtful.
TOTTENHAM VS MAN UTD – PREDICTIONS
Tottenham Hotspur Win
Spurs have beaten United three times already this season, so clearly have their number. United have not won against Spurs in six encounters either.
Draw
Only one point separates the two sides in the league, so they are very evenly matched.
Manchester United Win
United have greater recent experience with major finals and could have the psychological edge.
PREMIER LEAGUE – TOP SCORER
Nessun dato disponibile sui marcatori.TOTTENHAM VS MAN UTD – BETTING TIPS
Manchester United Win
This game is so difficult to call and could go either way, but I fancy United to squeak it. Their expansive gameplay in the Europa League could really trouble the Tottenham defence. While United have failed to keep it tight defensively, they have always found a way to scrape a result in Europe this season.
Over 2.5 Goals
Between them, the two sides have scored 105 and conceded 115 goals in the Premier League this campaign. In Bruno Fernandes, United have the joint-highest scorer in the Europa League this season with seven. His team-mate Rasmus Hojlund is only one goal further back. Spurs’ Dominic Solanke has scored five. He has netted in each of his last four appearances against Manchester United in all competitions.
Dominic Solanke and/or Bruno Fernandes to Score or Assist
In addition to the above goal scoring stats, both Solanke and Fernandes have assisted four goals in the Europa League this season. One more assist for either of them will see them having scored five and assisted five goals in the Europa League in a single season. Only two players have achieved this before: Kevin De Bruyne in 2014-15 (5 goals, 5 assists) and Giuliano in 2016-17 (8 goals, 6 assists).
HEAD-TO-HEAD AND KEY STATS
- Tottenham and Manchester United have played each other 204 times, with United winning 96. Spurs have won 57 times, while there have been 51 draws.
- Tottenham and Man Utd have only met once in a major European competition before. United progressed to the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963-64 with a 4-3 aggregate win over two legs.
- Manchester United are winless in six games against Tottenham in all competitions (D2 L4), losing all three encounters they have played this season. United have never lost four in a row to Spurs, nor have they ever gone seven games without a win.
- Tottenham have won nine of their 14 Europa League matches this season.
- Spurs are looking for their first major silverware since winning the League Cup 17 years ago. Tottenham’s last European title came in the 1983-84 season.
- Tottenham have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League twice, in 1972 and 1984. Should they win again, they will become the second English club to win it three times (after Liverpool).
- United’s Bruno Fernandes is joint-top in the Europa League Golden Boot chart with seven goals. His team-mate Rasmus Hojlund is one goal further back with six.
- Man Utd are the only side unbeaten in European competition this season (W9 D5).
- This is United’s ninth major European final, but they have failed to win three of their last four.
