Team News
Ruben Amorim opted to recall several senior players in preparation for the final, prioritising rhythm and sharpness. By contrast, Ange Postecoglou rotated heavily at Villa Park, resting key names ahead of the showdown in Bilbao.
Despite an assured performance against Aston Villa, Antonin Kinsky is expected to return to the bench as Guglielmo Vicario resumes duties in goal. Rodrigo Bentancur, Pedro Porro, Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke are also poised to rejoin the starting eleven. Heung-min Son made his first start since recovering from a foot injury and may retain his place, though Spurs are missing several key figures—Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall, Timo Werner and Radu Dragusin are all unavailable. Solanke is likely to spearhead the attack again, with support from Son. The forward has been prolific in the Europa League with five goals and four assists, and he has found the net in each of his last four appearances against Manchester United.
For United, Bruno Fernandes is level at the top of the Europa League scoring charts with seven goals, just ahead of Rasmus Højlund on six. Only Lyon’s Rayan Cherki (12) has been involved in more goals than Fernandes (11) in this campaign. In fact, the only English club player to surpass that tally in a single Europa League season is Olivier Giroud with 15 for Chelsea in 2018–19. Mason Mount and Amad Diallo returned recently and played a key role in the semi-final victory over Athletic. However, Matthijs de Ligt remains doubtful, while Diogo Dalot, Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee have only just returned from injury. Lisandro Martínez is ruled out until next season.
Form Guide
Despite enduring a grim domestic campaign, Tottenham have the chance to end a 17-year trophy drought and reclaim European glory. They’ve previously lifted the UEFA Cup twice—in 1972 and 1984—and could become only the second English side after Liverpool to win it three times. Spurs finished just behind United in the league phase before dispatching AZ Alkmaar, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo Glimt. With nine victories from 14 matches, this has been their most successful European campaign by volume of wins. However, that form stands in stark contrast to their Premier League struggles, where they sit 17th and have lost 21 times with one match remaining.
Most recently, they fell 2–0 at Aston Villa, though they’ll take confidence from their head-to-head record this season. Spurs have beaten United three times already: a 3–0 league win at Old Trafford, a thrilling 4–3 EFL Cup triumph, and a narrow 1–0 victory in February.
United, on the other hand, booked their place in the final by brushing aside Athletic Bilbao—cruising to a 3–0 win away before finishing the job with a 4–1 home result. That came after a dramatic quarter-final versus Lyon, where they overcame a two-goal deficit in extra time before Harry Maguire sealed a 7–6 aggregate victory.
Ruben Amorim’s side have now scored 35 goals in the competition—only Borussia Mönchengladbach (36), Chelsea (36), and Porto (37) have managed more in a single Europa League or UEFA Cup campaign. Remarkably, United remain unbeaten in Europe this season. Should they triumph in Bilbao, they’ll join an elite group of clubs to win the competition without a single defeat.
Predicted Outcome
We predict Manchester United will get a 1-0 win after extra-time in a match which will not excite many with quality, considering the importance of the game and the overall level these two teams have produced in the majority of their seasons.
