United take on Spurs in the Europa league final and you can call it the clown act or a game between two sides who are undeserving of being in a European final.
Both of those statements are probably true, but as they say ‘it is what it is.’ 🤷♂️
This is the biggest game we've had post-Sir Alex Ferguson. While we've been in finals and have won trophies that have meant a lot and been vital for the near future, none have mattered more than this. None have had more at stake.
The ramifications for both winning and losing this final are colossal!
I don't need to tell you what they are which is why we HAVE to win this match.
There is A LOT riding on this one.
Predicted Lineup
That is why the team Amorim selects will be all important.
Onana in goal.
With Yoro and Dalot back training, I believe the pair of them will start. It's a positive to have Zirkzee back at all but I doubt he'll feature at least from the start. Amorim confirmed that De Ligt will not be available.
Dorgu and Mazraoui as the wing-backs. 5x Champions League winner Casemiro to partner Ugarte in midfield. That may seem like a more defensive approach but considering how well they've played and how influential they've been going forward, this South American duo cannot be dropped.
Captain Bruno will be at no 10 alongside Garnacho. I believe that the star boy could be key to this game. Striker Hojlund to keep his place despite being shite. I think Amorim prefers an actual no 9 instead of a false 9 however, it isn't out of the realms of possibility that he could do this. Some would say he should.
There are variations for the manager as he could play Amad as the RWB instead of a returning Dalot, or use Amad as a no 10 and put Bruno up front.
Approach
That back three/five is so important to how we play and defend. With Yoro next to Maguire and Mazraoui, I feel more confident that we can keep Spurs at bay. I also believe Mazraoui is more comfortable as RCB instead of RWB whereas Dalot is more adept down the flank.
The only concern with the Portuguese is that he's coming back from a bit of an injury layoff which could cause him to be sluggish. On the other hand, with the amount of football he's played, perhaps this break was ideal for him and we could see the best of Dalot tonight?
I think we need to move the ball quickly when passing out from the back because Spurs will press us high. United can often panic under no pressure so when we do get pressed, we tend to make mistakes. Again, players like Yoro and Mazraoui are vital here as they are for me, better on the ball compared to Shaw and particularly Lindelof.
I'm not too worried about that midfield pairing because with Tottenham being quite a combative side in their midfield, the likes of Casemiro and Ugarte will be crucial to our play.
The pair love to get stuck in and it will be needed however, they have to be careful because they are both prone to yellow cards. As this is a European final and not a Premier League game, the rules maybe interpreted differently.
We have to be careful there as we don't want any sending offs. That could be catastrophic.
Ugarte and Casemiro have also been in the goals lately with the midfielders scoring and assisting 11 times in 11 matches.
PUT THEM UP FRONT WITH MAGUIRE AND WE'RE WINNING THIS!
Speaking of the attack though, Garnacho hasn’t started the last couple of games but I believe this is the perfect match for him. He always seems to cause Spurs problems and with their high line, his pace could be the difference. He’s also the only player with real speed in this United team.
Hojlund is crap but in Europe, he’s different although this is PL opposition which could make a difference. Rasmus does contain good speed himself and in the Europa League, seems to turn up. The Dane has scored 6 of his 10 goals in the EL.
Hopefully he can add to that tally in Bilbao.
Spurs being a Premier League side is something that low key worries me.
They do like possession and we don’t so we can let them have it. Defend deep and hit on the break as with a back five and two DMs in front of them, we should be (should be) okay defensively.
We then need to take our chances up front which means no selfishness, no shooting from stupid areas and no wastefulness. I’m looking at you Garnacho lad 👀.
It’s alwayssssss important to start off well even more so in a final. We’ve failed to do this more often than not resulting in poor performances and results.
In the 3-0 defeat to Spurs we didn’t start. At all. We may as well have stayed at home.
They scored inside 5 minutes and that was that. This CANNOT happen again!
Bruno was also sent off in the first half which made things harder (that’s what she said 😏) and is something else to avoid: sending offs early or otherwise.
No point talking about form because all form goes out the window for a final. It would be just like United though to go unbeaten all tournament and then lose in the final.
You could see it, couldn't you?
Spurs
Looking at mate and Spurs and somehow, they’re worse than us.
United are 16th in the league and Ange's side are 17th. It really does all come down to this final to decide who is worse of the two, doesn’t it? Survival of the shittest.
Spurs finished 4th in EL table just 1 point behind United. They have lost a couple of games yet do score a decent amount of goals with 27 from their 14 matches but is still 8 behind United at the top.
However, they do have the defensive edge as Spurs have kept five clean sheets to United's three.
We know the way they play and mate isn’t going to change that regardless of the situation. I actually admire that about him but it could work in our favor. That high line of theirs has become infamous since the Aussie took over. Everyone still remembers what they did in last season's 4-1 home loss to Chelsea when Spurs were down to 9 men.
That is where United can take advantage of our opponents with those spaces in behind. While someone like Pedro Porro can be quite deadly in the final third, due to his regular ventures forward, that left flank can be an area for Amorim to exploit particularly with the pace of Garnacho.
Both Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison will be OUT of this final which are big blows for Ange Postecoglou. Lucas Bergvall is another who is going to miss the match due to an ankle injury. Pape Sarr was another injury concern but he may feature in the final. Sarr scored in Spurs' 2-0 win over United last season.
However, in the last two league games, Ange rotated heavily which I found odd.
I get you want to rest players and reduce injury risk but surely you want to give them some minutes ahead of such a big game? That is something else that we could take advantage of.
None of Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven played in their defeat to Villa last Friday. More than that, Romero and van de Ven haven't played since the 2-0 win over Bodo/Glimt in their second leg semifinal almost two weeks ago.
Not playing football for that long before a massive final could work against them.
We know that there’s been three games between the sides this season and Spurs have won all of them with an aggregate score of 8-3 whilst keeping two clean sheets.
But this is a final. Anything is possible. This is also where I say I feel United might have the edge because we’ve been in four finals in the last four years. This will be our fifth.
That experience could give you the advantage.
And of course we know how to win European trophies whereas Spurs don’t know what it’s like to win anything even if Ange always wins things in my second season ,mate.
Prediction
This game is so important for us. Win it, we're in the CL, get loads of money, attract better players, possibility of selling some, and more. Quite a few pros.
Lose and none of those things happen, we finish 16th or 17th and we will have to live with the fact that we lost to Spurs in a European final.
Spurs.
Not something I want to think about.
What do I think will happen then?
It’s between two sides who are untrustworthy. You never know what you’re going to get. Either may have the advantage over the other in some ways but also have the ability to shoot themselves in the foot.
This is without the control of what the officials might do which could have a huge say on the outcome of this game as well.
I believe that it will be a back and forth encounter with everyone being quite nervous but due to the fact that we are Man Utd, there’s more riding on this for us. This along with that final experience makes me believe,
WE WILL WIN!
Don’t care how but victory is what matters.
That is being said with little confidence btw 😅 but I believe in positive energy. I know that this team makes us rethink why we support them but for this game, this one game, let’s back the boys. Let’s just give off positive vibes and energy as much as possible because positive energy breeds positive energy.
I don’t want to hear any complaints about rumored starting lineups or why this is happening or whatever.
Put all differences aside and let’s do this. Together.
We can do this!
Yanited. Yanited. Yanited.
Ruben Amorim looks to win his first trophy as Man Utd manager in Europa League final against Spurs | Ruben Amorim: Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)
Bruno Fernandes could become the fifth captain to win a European trophy with Man Utd | Bruno Fernandes: Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)
Ange Postecoglou wants to break the Spurs trophy drought in Europa League final against Man Utd | Ange Postecoglou: Image credit: Getty Images via Goal
Son Heung-Min aims to pick up his first trophy with Spurs after a decade at the club | Son Heung-Min: Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images via Sempre Barca