We are now just days away from the Europa League final and it really is make or break for Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.
The two Premier League sides have had extremely disappointing seasons, with Spurs currently 17th and United 16th in the league. Winning the Europa League on Wednesday night could change all that, however, as it would ensure Champions League qualification for next season as well as a piece of silverware.
Ange Postecoglou will be without the likes of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall due to injury but the Australian knows just how vital winning in Bilbao is for the club. Speaking ahead of the final last week, Postecoglou said: "When you look at the historical backdrop of this club and what it’s been through in the last 20-odd years, I feel like it could be a turning point in terms of the way the club is perceived but also more how it perceives itself which I think is the biggest thing.
"Until you do that, irrespective of what else you accomplish, people will still say you haven’t won anything and in our game, in life in general, that’s the things that matter most when people assess where you’re at."
Postecoglou heavily rotated his side on Friday night for the 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa. Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Brendan Johnson, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke all did not start against Unai Emery's side.
Manchester United, meanwhile, played a much stronger team in their 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Friday with Andre Onana, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Noussair Mazraoui, Patrick Dorgu, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund all starting against the Blues.
It will be fascinating to see what team Amorim fields on Wednesday night, but UEFA may have already dropped a hint as to who may and may not start. In pictures taken at San Mames Stadium on Monday, a snap of a substitution board could be seen, with officials clearly testing out the equipment ahead of the final in two days' time.
Interestingly, the substitution board showed the No.20 in red and No.25 in green, which in a normal game would mean the player with No.25 on their back is replacing the player wearing No.20. Diogo Dalot wears the No.20 for Manchester United, while Manuel Ugarte dons No.25.
While those numbers were most probably put on the substitution board because it is the year 2025, it remains possible that this instead hints at a possible substitution Amorim may make in the Europa League final, with Ugarte replacing Dalot.
The same theory cannot be applied to Tottenham as no one in the Spurs squad currently wears the No.25 shirt. Fraser Forster, though, does wear No.20.
Dalot has been struggling with a calf injury in recent weeks but was spotted doing an individual training session at Carrington last week and it is hoped the Portuguese international returns to fitness ahead of Wednesday.
"Dalot is trying really bad," Amorim said. "I don't want to risk Dalot, when you start getting one injury, a second injury is a big thing. We cannot have these kind of problems in our squad. He's working really hard to get in the final." Ugarte, meanwhile, is likely to start the final alongside Casemiro in the Man Utd midfield but only time will tell if the substitution board team news theory comes true.