We are now only two days away from Ange Postecoglou and his Tottenham team walking out at San Mames Stadium for the Europa League final. In a season which has been so frustrating and disappointing in the Premier League, Spurs have the opportunity to finish the campaign on a high by putting an end to their trophy drought for good.
Manchester United are also in the same boat as the Lilywhites, with the sides currently languishing 16th and 17th in the Premier League table respectively with one game to go. Both go into the final on the back of defeats but their domestic form has been in complete contrast to their performances and results in Europe.
Amid plenty of question marks over Postecoglou's Tottenham team selection at Aston Villa on Friday night, the Australian opted to switch things up and leave some of his key players on the substitutes' bench. Others, such as Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie, were kept on ice and missed out on the 20-man matchday party completely.
Postecoglou's decision regarding his team dropped a huge hint over his selection for the final and all will become clear on Wednesday evening. In regards to those who started on the bench, Guglielmo Vicario will take his place in goal, Pedro Porro will operate at right-back, Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma start in midfield and then Brennan Johnson, Dominic Solanke and Richarlison look set to take their place in attack.
A place for Richarlison in the Tottenham XI for the final may be a talking point for some Tottenham fans but Postecoglou's decisions over the past two games point to the Brazilian getting the nod. After all, he was an unused substitute against Crystal Palace and then he was introduced for the final three minutes plus stoppage time at Villa Park on Friday.
The fact he wasn't brought on before Solanke, who replaced Son Heung-min on 74 minutes, does appear to indicate that he will have a huge role to play in the final from the off. Add Romero, Van de Ven and Udogie to the mix and that leaves one spot remaining in the starting XI.
The final place may all depend on Postecoglou's thinking when it comes to his formation. If it is to be a 4-3-3 setup, one of Pape Matar Sarr or Wilson Odobert could start, meaning club captain Son begins the game on the bench.
A 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 formation, however, and that would play into the South Korean's hands after returning to the pitch in the past two games. Son played the vast majority of the match at Villa Park on Friday and that will have done him the world of good heading into the final after some lively moments against Aston Villa.
Postecoglou and his coaching staff now have limited time remaining to decide on their team to take on Manchester United, with perhaps only one position in the team there for the taking. Speaking ahead of the Aston Villa fixture, the former Celtic boss outlined what the next couple of days will look like for the team before the Europa League final comes around.
"We’ve kind of mapped it out. It’s a day-to-day proposition and a lot will depend on who plays and what I decide about tomorrow night and who plays and who doesn’t, then making sure the guys who don’t and will potentially be involved on Wednesday we get some good training into them because I think that’s important," he said.
"Our programme at the moment, all things being equal, we do the Villa game, won’t get back until late, Saturday will be a sort of rest day for the players, we'll train Sunday, a good session for us and then train here Monday morning and fly to Bilbao on Monday afternoon. Have a run on the pitch the night before and game Wednesday."
Set to fly out to Bilbao later today, hopefully the Europa League trophy will be on the return journey with them come the end of the week.