Manchester United are preparing to take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final.
Thousands of Manchester United fans are travelling to Bilbao for Wednesday’s Europa League final against Tottenham, which will be the fourth time two teams from the same country compete to lift the trophy.
United reached the final as the only unbeaten team in the competition, while Tottenham breezed past Bødo/Glimt in the semi-finals.
Like United, Tottenham have multiple injuries going into the game. Ruben Amorim will be without Lisandro Martinez and Joshua Zirkzee, while he waits to hear whether Leny Yoro or Matthijs de Ligt will pass fit after picking up injuries in recent weeks.
Unsurprisingly, United and Tottenham got into the final after losing their last league matches. That would explain why they are both set to finish the campaign just above the relegation zone.
Without further ado, here are three predictions ahead of the Europa League final.
Ruben Amorim to stick with same defence
United have had an array of injuries throughout the season, with the defence hit worse than other areas of the team.
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Amorim opted for a back-three of Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw against Chelsea and he is likely to stick with that against Tottenham.
There is a slight chance he kept Yoro and De Ligt out of the game to keep them fully refreshed to face Tottenham, but they’ve missed a few games in recent weeks and it would be a risk to throw them back in for such a match.
United’s head coach will make his decision based on the training sessions between now and the eagerly awaited trip to Bilbao.
Amad Diallo will finally play in a Europa League final
Amad Diallo will be making his third Europa League final appearance, but he has yet to play a single minute after being an unused substitute twice.
In 2021, the Ivory Coast international was on the bench for United against Villarreal, as the Red Devils lost on penalties.
Amad joined Rangers on loan the following season and was an unused substitute in the Europa League final in Seville when the Scottish side lost on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Now a star in United’s first team and fully recovered from injury, Amad will hopefully play a key role in this year’s Europa League final against Tottenham.
Manchester United to beat Tottenham in the Europa League final
Although I have plenty of nerves ahead of the final, my belief grows whenever we get closer to kick-off. It’s difficult to ignore the fact that United have been abysmal against other Premier League clubs but it should be different this time with more at stake.
This United team have proven in the past that they can raise their game for big occasions. Their biggest problem is not being able to play at a high level consistently, which explains why United were unable to win back-to-back games in the league this season.
Tottenham have their injuries in attack, while United have theirs in midfield. It will be two underperforming teams battling it out for a place in Europe’s most prestigious tournament.
I think United will be able to cope with the occasion and Ange Postecoglou’s side will come up short. The Reds are coming away from Bilbao with a 2-1 win over Tottenham.