Tottenham or Manchester United? It’s hard to say who has been worse this season. A look at the Premier League table is disheartening for both teams. Spurs are just above the danger zone — though with a solid 13-point gap over 17th-placed Leicester — while the famous club from Old Trafford sits in 16th. The only saving grace for both clubs is that Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton were long doomed to “second division” football. For months now, both Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim have known that the Europa League is their season’s salvation. The winner not only earns a place in European competition but in the very elite — the Champions League. After a season of failure, one of these teams could end up victorious, heading into the June break with a valuable trophy — though it won’t erase the nightmare of a campaign. It may not seem fair, but the rules allow one of these underperforming sides to reach the Champions League ahead of teams like Aston Villa, who fought hard all season in the Premier League and came close to eliminating Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semifinals.Spurs have DOMINATED United this season:• Beat them 3-0 at Old Trafford• Beat them 1-0 at home• Knocked them out of League Cup (4-3)First time in HISTORY Tottenham has beaten United three times in a single season.Yet both teams languish at the bottom… pic.twitter.com/FDGOUPSRO3— TheUnderdog.Online (@TheUnderdogDO) May 21, 2025 Bilbao, the pride of the Basque Country, and the modern, majestic San Mames stadium will tonight be the center of the footballing world. All eyes will be on this corner of Spain. The hosts had hoped to see Athletic play in the final, but Manchester United dismantled them in the semis. Tottenham had no issues with the Arctic miracle — Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt — securing two comfortable wins. The Red Devils pulled off a magical comeback in the quarterfinals, eliminating Lyon despite trailing by two goals in extra time. The stakes are massive: the winner takes it all, the loser inherits the “flop of the season” label — and not just in England. Bookmakers slightly favor United, but recent history suggests Tottenham is United’s bogey team. This season, they’ve faced each other three times — and Tottenham won all three: twice in the league (1–0 at home, 3–0 at Old Trafford) and once in the EFL Cup (4–3). Out of the last six encounters, United have avoided defeat only once.Someone is nervous: ‘I‘m not a clown‘Amorim has an excuse — he arrived mid-season and is expected to remain in charge of the Red Devils next season. For Postecoglou, not even a trophy may guarantee job security. Postecoglou has clashed with the press for months, repeatedly insisting that he wins trophies in his second year. “I always win in my second season” said the Australian-born Greek coach eight months ago after a derby loss to Arsenal. Now he has the chance to silence his critics. Then again, Tottenham is hardly known for winning trophies. Quite the opposite — they don’t know how to. Their drought has lasted 17 years, and their 25 defeats this season have equaled the club’s worst-ever record from 1991–92. Winning silverware would present a serious dilemma for chairman Daniel Levy.”All the media are doubting us and our manager, but we in the team believe in our quality and we stand behind our coach. We can finish this season triumphantly” said powerful center-back Micky van de Ven. In terms of squad availability, which has been a problem all season, Ange won’t be able to count on three key players for the final: James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, and Lucas Bergvall. The good news is that Pape Sarr has recovered from injury. All injured players have traveled to Bilbao to strengthen team chemistry.Europa league 2017 final ❌UCL 2023 Final ❌Onana has lost his last two European finals 😭 pic.twitter.com/Hf7aIrDkwh— Janty (@CFC_Janty) May 20, 2025 Amorim, meanwhile, has aged 10 years in just eight months at Old Trafford. He knows winning the trophy won’t solve all of United’s problems.”At clubs like this — especially Manchester United, but also Tottenham — it’s strange. You have managers who lose matches but stay in charge. I think people see that we’re trying to build something. The board understands there are a lot of issues. I don’t know how to explain it, but we’re trying to show both the board and the fans that better days are coming. The moment will arrive when we start winning,” said the Portuguese coach, who joined United mid-season after winning two league titles with Sporting Lisbon. The good news for United is that Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, and Diogo Dalot are available for selection. Out of action are the central defensive duo of Lisandro Martínez and Matthijs de Ligt. Also unavailable is youngster Chido Obi Martin.##NAJAVA_MECA_8939875##
