Daily Mail

The challenge Ange Postecoglou will throw to his Tottenham players is not only about saving the season in the Europa League final but breaking a cycle of failure and putting their pictures up on the walls inside the club.

'That's the hurdle this club has to overcome because it'll always be there,' said the Spurs boss, looking ahead to next week's final against Manchester United in Bilbao. 'Until you actually do it, then you are fair game for people to say 'you've always kind of fluffed it on the big stage' and what you've got to try and do is break that cycle.

'There has to be a higher purpose than shutting people's mouths up. I think it is more about 'can you make an impact?' I often say to the players that at the end of your careers, what you want to be able to do is go back to the clubs you served and know you've made an impact.

'The photos I see up on the walls at the stadium are all of Bill Nicholson. The 1984 winning team. A lot of them are in black and white. Can we get this group up on that wall?'

Bill Nicholson was the manager who led Tottenham to the league and FA Cup double in 1961, the last time they were champions of England. They have not lifted a European trophy since Keith Burkinshaw led them to the UEFA Cup in 1984.

But the trophies have dried up. They have won only two League Cups in 34 years and nothing since 2008.

'It is not because of a lack of quality players or managers that have all been through here,' said Postecoglou. 'I realised that when I took the role. I knew it was going to be a massive challenge, but we've given ourselves an opportunity. The other key bit is to try and take that opportunity.'

It would extend the Australian's record of always winning a trophy in his second season at every club.

'For me personally, well you know great, it's another trophy I can reminisce in my old age about,' he added. 'But more importantly what it means for the club. I've always said it's the significance of what it does to people that really impacts you.

'A lot of the success I've had has been stuff that's been pretty significant. At Yokohama, where they hadn't won a championship for 14 years, Australia had never won a continental championship, Brisbane had never won one, South Melbourne - my first job – hadn't won in seven years.

'Celtic had been one year but trust me that's a long time in Scotland. They had to wrestle back the dominance they had for so long, so it's the significance of them all because you know what it does to the club and to the people.

'When you look at the historical backdrop of this club and what it's been through on 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.'

It has been a difficult season for the Spurs boss, with a midseason injury crisis leading and European distractions leading to a record 20 Premier League defeats this season but bringing home silverware has always been the key for the manager.

'That's what I'll get judged on,' said Postecoglou. 'I could have been sitting here fifth last year, fifth this year – maybe people wouldn't be waiting for the white smoke to see if it's my last one – but they'd still be saying 'You know Ange, that's great but it's all been done before. Until this club wins something, you haven't made an impact'.

'I kind of knew throughout my tenure last year, that's what I was going to be judged on so now we have an opportunity to do that.'

Both Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglou will surely have thanked the gods a thousand times over that they still, somehow, have a chance to make the Champions League next term.

After both teams lost 2-0 at home at the weekend - Spurs to London rivals Crystal Palace and United to West Ham - they have reached all new lows, and in any other year would face a genuine threat of relegation.

That's right, regular features in Europe over the last decade though they may be, Tottenham and Man United are currently 17th and 16th in the Premier League respectively.

To put it bluntly, the two are each making their own case for being the worst teams to ever reach a major European final. Whether it's right or not, one of these two teams will be in the Champions League next year, and it would be amusing to have a team win the Europa League after a 17th-place finish.

Just a point separates the two sides near the bottom of the pile, and though there are certain mitigating factors that ought to be considered, the reality is that there will likely be immense pressure on whichever manager loses that clash in Bilbao next month. Not that the victor will realistically be getting off scot-free, mind.

Both teams have some serious thinking to do over the summer, but as the two sides reach what seems like a new low, which of Man United and Tottenham has really been worse this season?

Well, before we get into some quite frankly damning stats, it's worth laying out a few mitigating factors. Firstly, there are the injuries that both teams have had over the course of the campaign.

According to Transfermarkt, Tottenham have had 35 injuries that have prevented a player from featuring in at least one game, and 10 different players have suffered from more than one such disruption. On 14 occasions a player has missed five or more Premier League games.

In the case of Man United it's only marginally better reading with 32 distinct injuries, though the way things have been going they'll take every win they can get. They've had 11 players with multiple injuries, and a further 12 injuries lasting more than five games.

For United there's also the small matter of changing managers mid-season, which is naturally a huge disruption. They've got to learn how to play a whole new way, and also try and prove they deserve to be a key part of the new era - it's not all that easy. Tottenham, meanwhile, don't have much to complain about in that regard.

Additionally, it's worth point out that they've both had to play across multiple fronts for the majority of the season - both have played 57 games - which will go some way to explaining the fitness problems as well as a loss of form and fluidity given the need for chopping and changing.

Right, now that the excuses are out the way, let's take a deep dive into just how bad both teams have been.

Goals

Seems like a good place to start, doesn't it? In the last five games, they have pretty even records, both scoring five, with United conceding 12 to Spurs' 14.

But if we look at the 25 games since Amorim's arrival, Tottenham have outscored United by 10 (40 vs 30), but have conceded five more (46 vs 41), so the north Londoners have a +5 goal difference edge.

Now, where it gets interesting is everybody's favourite metric, expected goals. Spurs have out-performed their expected goals scored (xGS) since Amorim's arrival by 4.54, indicating perhaps forwards bailing their team out, or goals coming from low-threat situations. United, meanwhile, are behind theirs by 2.7.

But it's a different scenario in the last five games. Both teams have under-performed - United by 3.35 and Spurs 1.06 - which usually underlines wasteful finishing, unless any goalkeepers have pulled off miracle saves.

Let's look at the other way - expected goals conceded (xGC), though it's not pretty reading for any fans of either club. Since Amorim arrived 25 games ago, United have conceded 4.21 goals more than their xGC (41 vs 36.29) and Spurs surprisingly fewer (46 vs 47.56).

What is telling, though, is the fact that both have similar records in the last five games as the injury-depleted sides limp towards the finish line; United are conceding 4.5 more goals than expected, and Spurs 4.65. Not exactly trophy-winning form, is it?

What does this tell us? Well, numbers and data are only one side of the story, but from them we can extrapolate that both sides are struggling to both score, and keep the ball out of their own net.

Both have conceded more than they should be, and in recent games have not been scoring as many as they should be, though in Spurs' defence, they are conceding fewer and scoring more than expected for the majority of the season; their recent form is more of an outlier.

Who has been worse?: It's close, but you would have to say United. They have fallen short of their xGS and exceeded their xGC - exactly the opposite of what you'd want - since Amorim's arrival and in the last five games. Tottenham have been very poor too, though.

Tactics

Helpfully, this is quite a difficult category to quantify, but we will try nonetheless. Both managers have different approaches, but we've looked at indicators for how comfortable a team might be in their system of choice.

United are winning the ball back more often than their rivals both recently (43.6 times per-game vs 40) and across Amorim's tenure (44.92 vs 43.64), which would indicate a more effective press, as well as better tackling or intercepting without possession.

Secondly, exposure to the counter is a big part of how well constructed a tactic is, and conceding in that way seems to be something we associate with Spurs under Postecoglou. In the last 25 games they have let in seven goals from fast breaks (17.5 per cent of all goals conceded), two of which have come in the last five games (14.3 per cent).

United, meanwhile, have only conceded five such goals under Amorim (16.67 per cent), but none in the last five games. This could indicate that the tactical system is developing well in defence with players better placed to cut out counters, but the goals are instead coming from somewhere else.

Though already covered in the above section, the fact that Spurs are expected to have conceded 10.77 more goals since Amorim arrived is hardly a ringing endorsement of Postecoglou's system.

Another indicator of tactical suitability can be the amount of points dropped from winning positions, and, once again, it makes for poor reading for Spurs fans. They've dropped a staggering 21 points after taking the lead compared to United's nine.

Those 21 points would take Spurs up to eighth, and even 10 of those up to 13th, where United would be with their nine points. In some ways, that's actually a positive for Spurs, because it at least shows that they shouldn't be this far down the table based on how often they take the lead. United, really, can have far fewer complaints.

Admittedly, this is not a perfect picture of how well-suited a team is to their tactical system, but it at least highlights certain key areas within a system where one team is out-performing the other.

Who has been worse?: Well, Tottenham are seemingly more exposed on the counter, less-effective in the press, and have dropped more than half their current points total from winning positions. United have been far from amazing, but there has been at least one team worse than them in those stats.

Passing and possession

Not every team needs to succeed by holding onto the ball for the entire game, though it would be reductive in the extreme to suggest either of these side were Route One specialists.

How well a team operates within possession still shows how dominant a side can be within a match, and build up pressure, as well as other more intangible traits like composure, movement across the field, ability to dictate the tempo of a game, among other things.

First off, we have looked at the passing numbers for both teams, and generally speaking they have fairly similar accuracies over the last 25 games, but it is in the last five games that United's poor passing rears its head, while Spurs are performing slightly better.

United have a 84.31 per cent passing accuracy under Amorim (Spurs have 84.65 per cent) but in recent weeks that drops to 81.66 per cent (vs 85.2 per cent). United are also passing the ball 68 fewer times per game in that period, while Tottenham have increased by around 20.

In terms of stringing together passing sequences, both have dropped off in recent weeks, as you'd expect for two sides with players invariably injured, but Tottenham more so than United.

Where United are making 0.84 more sequences of 10 or more passes from open play in the last five games compared to the rest of Amorim's tenure, Spurs have dropped by 1.92 to just 8.6 on average towards the end of the season.

Lastly, in terms of passing the ball forwards and getting on the attack, in sheer numbers, Spurs have dropped off by around seven progressive passes per-game (p/g), but the percentage of passes that is played forward has gone up by almost three per cent. United, meanwhile have marginally increased in both manners.

So Man United under Amorim pass the ball less often and with less accuracy than Spurs, and have deteriorated more so in the last five games, though they are managing more sustained sequences than their rivals.

Who has been worse?: Tottenham under Postecoglou are not a side built on possession, but they have been marginally better than than Amorim's United with the ball at their feet, the latter passing the ball less often and with less accuracy, despite playing it forward slightly more regularly.

Consistency and form

Finally, we come to another difficult-to-quantify category to round off this scathing assessment of both these two European finalists, with a few more important numbers worth noting.

In a basic sense, consistency and form are two words rarely used to describe either Man United or Spurs this season - at least in the positive sense of the words. The former's longest unbeaten run is just four games, with Spurs managing three.

On the flipside, United have only lost three on the bounce, while their rivals have been beaten four times in a row, doing so in January. United are on their worst run of the season, though, with no win in seven.

Not to be outdone, Spurs managed that feat earlier this season, and are now on a scarcely believable run of one win in 10 in the Premier League. It's fair to say that both sides are currently looking a little further afield than the domestic table.

In terms of the last five games, both teams have a single point, with United only ahead of Spurs on goal difference. Both trail Ipswich. In 25 games, United have picked up 24 points and Spurs 22, so it's not exactly fair to say they've only finished the season poorly - this is a recurring trend in 2024-25.

Injuries, it must be said, will have ruined both sides' chances of a consistent run of results. Postecoglou has had to change his side 91 times this season to Amorim's 86, and both have done so 22 times in the last five games.

Spurs have also had to play in three different formations over the course of the season, which highlights the level of the disruption.

Who has been worse?: Again, this is hardly a case of one side being better than the other, and is heavily influenced by injuries, but Tottenham's 22 points from 25 games, a run of one win in 10, AND the fact they're currently bottom of the form table, gives them the edge here.

VERDICT: Well, even though it was a dead heat in the sense it finished 2-2 by our criteria, Tottenham have just edged it. United have been moderately more consistent, are better at winning the ball back and have the tighter defence, while also playing the ball forward more regularly.

But that's hardly the gold medal it sounds. Spurs may have outscored United, but they've conceded more, are more vulnerable on the counter, and let slip an astounding 21 points from a winning position.

Though United's figures in front of goal are a concern that any fan will be all too aware of, they at least have picked up two more points since Amorim's arrival and have never been quite as poor as Spurs' current run of one win and seven losses in the last 10.

Ange Postecoglou has warned Heung-min Son he will not allow his heart to rule his head ahead the Europa League final.

Son returned after a month out with a foot injury as a substitute in Tottenham's defeat by Crystal Palace on Sunday and will be involved against Aston Villa on Friday to sharpen up ahead of the showdown with Manchester United in Bilbao.

'It comes down to getting him ready to play and then making a decision,' said Postecoglou, on the matter of selection.

'It's nothing more than that. One thing I do know about finals is there are always moments and players who can change it, but it's going to take a collective effort. It's what we do as a team that will be much more important than individuals on the day.'

There are parallels to Harry Kane's fight for fitness ahead of the Champions League final in 2019 and only Son and Ben Davies survive in the squad from that defeat against Liverpool, in Madrid.

'He understands better than most what a trophy would do for this football club,' said Postecoglou, on Son. 'And for him personally because he's had an unbelievable career here in which he's done just about everything.

'But the key bit, that silverware which every player craves, he knows how significant it would be for the club and him personally.

'So, the fact that he's back available is good. In terms of his fitness, he's progressing well. We should get him some game time against Villa on Friday and, if he trains right through, he should be in a good condition.'

On Dejan Kulusevski, who came off against Palace with a knee injury, Postecoglou said: 'We'll see. He was a bit sore this morning with his knee. It looks like a knock at this stage but we're going to let it settle for 24 hours then assess it. But the initial thing was it's more of a knock than anything more significant.'

Ange Postecoglou damningly declared Spurs cannot mentally cope with having a final in front of them after slumping to a record 20th Premier League defeat.

Three days after reaching the Europa League final, Tottenham were brought back down to earth with a 2-0 home loss to Crystal Palace, a result which leaves them fourth bottom.

Postecoglou made eight changes to his team he prepares for their all-important showdown with Manchester United in Bilbao on Wednesday week.

But the Spurs boss still let rip at his side’s sorry display, admitting his second-choice players blew their chance of forcing their way into his thinking for the game in Spain.

‘I just think some of it is psychological in terms of not being able to cope with what's before us at the moment,’ admitted Postecoglou. ‘With elite sport, if you're a little bit off it, you pay the price.

‘It was a disappointing performance and nowhere near the level it should be. I can't totally discount the performance on the fact I've made a number of changes. We should have still been able to perform better than what we did.

‘Guys had an opportunity today to put their name forward and put some pressure on the guys who played the other night.

‘It’s fair to say there wasn't any compelling evidence of that. I'm disappointed more didn't step forward. They missed a chance.’

Postecoglou suffered a scare when Dejan Kulusevski – one of only three players he kept in his starting line-up from Thursday night’s win over Bodo/Glimt – limped off in the first half with a knee injury.

But the Aussie said: ‘We are hoping he should be OK.

'The medical team are not too concerned with him. It’s more of a knock than anything else.’

Postecoglou went on to blame Tottenham’s Europa League campaign for losing 20 games in a Premier League campaign for the first time.

‘It’s not exactly Pythagoras theorem,’ he added. ‘It’s quite simple to understand we would have had much better results if we didn’t have to navigate this.

'Either you understand or you don’t and you beat us over the head. I get it.’

Meanwhile, Oliver Glasner was left hailing Palace’s perfect preparation for their FA Cup final against Manchester City on Saturday.

‘There are so many positive things to take ahead of the final,’ said the Eagles boss, who picked a full-strength side.

‘The best preparation is showing a good performance here, to sustain the rhythm. It is more risky not to play players from last Monday to next Saturday.

‘The chances we created, the goals we scored and the consistency of our defending will all help us in the final. It was a really nice Sunday afternoon.’

The laugh from Eberechi Eze said it all. Tottenham Hotspur might be Europa League finalists, but they are a Premier League joke. And Eze could not contain his giggle after scoring the first of his two goals in this one-sided London derby, so easy was it for him and his Crystal Palace team-mates.

This really was an embarrassing afternoon for Spurs in a season that has been full of them.

Yes, Ange Postecoglou was playing his reserves with both eyes on the final in Bilbao in 10 days’ time, when they could claim their first European trophy in 41 years. But this defeat meant they have now made history domestically – losing 20 matches in a Premier League season for the first time.

In the wake of their Europa semi-final win over Bodo/Glimt on Thursday, Postecoglou had arrogantly asked: ‘Who cares if we’re struggling in the league?’ Well, perhaps try Daniel Levy.

The Spurs chairman sat stony-faced in the directors’ box on Sunday - and there is no way he will accept his club sitting just one place out of the relegation places, regardless of whether this season ends with silverware or not.

The 60,254 fans who turned up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium also probably care about Palace inflicting a league double on their side for the first time.

Those supporters will be more forgiving of days like this if they are toasting a trophy in Spain on Wednesday week. But should they lose to Manchester United, the other Premier League laughing stock, then there will be no hiding from their horrors in the top flight this term.

Postecoglou spoke afterwards of his players not being able to cope ‘psychologically’ with having a final in front of them. It was a damning indictment of the mental fragility of his squad. Not least because Palace had just shown them how to prepare for a date with destiny.

In complete contrast to his opposite number, Eagles boss Oliver Glasner picked a full-strength side, resisting the temptation to ring the changes with Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City in mind.

And the Austrian was rewarded with a morale-boosting victory and performance, which has helped Palace equal their record Premier League points tally with two matches still to go.

It was men against boys for the 90 minutes and the scoreline did not reflect the dominance of the visitors, who had 23 shots to their opponent’s eight, and 10 on target to Tottenham’s one.

Spurs’ second string simply could not cope with Palace’s powerhouse front three of Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr, or their flying right wing-back Daniel Munoz.

While all of Palace’s stars came through this match unscathed, Spurs were given an injury scare when Dejan Kulusevski – one of only three survivors from Thursday – limped off in the 19th minute after suffering a knock on his following a full-blooded challenge by Marc Guehi.

Postecoglou said his forward ‘should be OK’ for Bilbao, but it was a moment which appeared to haunt his team-mates, who went into retreat for the rest of the match.

Even before then, though, Palace were on top. They thought they had taken the lead in the ninth minute when Sarr tapped in at the back post after a lovely free-flowing move. However, Spurs were left off the hook when VAR found that Mateta, who was stood in his own half, had crept offside via his shoulder at the start of the move.

Not that the left-off woke the hosts up, as Palace continued to create chance after chance, mainly though Munoz, who Spurs' struggling left-back Djed Spence appeared not to notice for 90 minutes.

After Munoz crashed against the bar with a fierce drive, Palace had another goal chalked out when Maxence Lacroix’s header from Will Hughes’ corner went in off Guehi’s arm.

But they finally had the lead on the stroke of half-time when Munoz again raced clear down the right from Mateta’s pass, then slipped the ball across to Eze, who stroked home.

To say the visitors deserved their advantage at the break was the understatement of the season – and they doubled it three minutes into the second half via the same source.

Eze started the move with a precision pass to Sarr, who held the ball up and then played it back to the England forward to power in for his fifth goal in four games.

It could have been worse for Spurs, with Antonin Kinsky keeping out a shot from Mateta, a misdirected header from his own team-mate Kevin Danso and a one-on-one effort from substitute Eddie Nketiah.

And Palace fans were loving every minute, singing about going to Wembley, while Spurs fans trudged off home early, praying they will not feel this sort of pain in Spain.

Tottenham suffered an injury blow in their 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Sunday - just 10 days before their Europa League final clash against Manchester United.

Ange Postecoglou's side beat Bodo/Glimt 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, and play in Bilbao on May 21 in search of their first European trophy since they won the UEFA Cup in 1984.

Despite their consistent bright showings in Europe this season, Spurs were once again underwhelming in the Premier League, suffering their 20th loss in the competition in 2024-25.

Goals either side of half-time by Eagles talisman Eberechi Eze meant Tottenham plummeted down to 17th place in the table after Sunday's results.

And their misfortunes on the day began early in the first half when Dejan Kulusevski was forced off just 19 minutes into the affair following a challenge by Palace captain Marc Guehi.

Kulusevski received treatment on the pitch and initially tried to play on, but exited the pitch just minutes later and was replaced by Mikey Moore.

However, after the game Postecoglou reassured Tottenham fans that their talisman's issue is not believed to be significant.

'He should be okay,' the Australian boss said. '[I was] just talking to him after. The medical team are not too concerned about him. It was just a knock.'

Tottenham are expected to be without three players for the monumental final two Wednesdays from now.

In defence, Radu Dragusin ruptured his ACL in February and has been a long-term absentee for some time.

Meanwhile, James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall are two of Spurs' midfield weapons that are set to miss the rest of the season.

The Europa League final will be played at the Estadio San Mames on May 21 - home to Athletic Bilbao - whom Man United beat to book their spot in the final.

Victory for Tottenham would spell an end to their 17-year wait for a major trophy, and a 41-year European trophy drought.

Their last trip to the top stage of a European competition was also an all-English affair, when Liverpool beat them 2-0 in the 2019 Champions League final.

Hundreds of Spurs supporters gathered outside the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Sunday morning to welcome back newly released British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari.

Lifelong Tottenham fan Emily, 28, was given a hero's welcome by almost 300 football fans in her first public appearance in London since she was freed from Hamas captivity earlier this year.

Speaking to the cheering crowd Emily Damari - who was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Azar and spent 471 days as a hostage in Gaza - said: 'I am very happy to be here [in the UK].

'Thank you to everyone who prayed for me, who shouted my name without knowing me.

'Thank you I don't have the words to say how grateful I am. All of you are amazing. I hope Spurs are going to win today!'

Wearing a Spurs shirt, Emily - who returned to Israel in January during a hostage-exchange and ceasefire deal - added: 'I want to give a special thanks to all the Jews in the diaspora, but especially to the UK Jewish community, who came out to support my mother and my family campaigning tirelessly to help secure my release.

'May the other 59 [remaining] hostages be home soon.

'Gali and Ziv Berman [they are] very, very, very close friends of mine and I hope they bring them home today.'

The 27-year-old twins Gali and Ziv Berman were kidnapped alongside Ms Damari from their safe room on October 7 2023 in the devastating terror attack that killed around 1,200 people.

The brothers are amongst the 59 people who are still being held hostage in Gaza by the Palestinian terror group with just 24 still thought to be alive after almost 600 days of imprisonment.

Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said while they had believed 24 hostages were still alive, he was now uncertain about the fate of three of them.

Meanwhile Emily's mother Mandy Damari said: 'I am over the moon.

'I am so glad she's back and here with the people who supported her all the time.

'We need all the 59 hostages back [including] Gali and Ziv who are Emily's friends.'

As campaigners chanted 'she's one of our own, she's one of our own, Emily Damari is finally home', Emily released 59 yellow balloons into the air to signify the 59 remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.

Further chants of 'bring them home now' and 'Am Yisrael Chai [the Jewish people live] also rang out in the streets outside the football club ahead of their highly anticipated match against Crystal Palace.

Since the start of the football season dozens of Tottenham fans have gathered outside the stadium ahead of every game to demand the immediate release of Emily Damari.

In her honour they have released yellow balloons during matches, stuck up missing posters of hostages, and tied yellow ribbons to lamp posts along White Hart Lane.

Once inside the stadium, Emily was greeted by several current and former high-profile Tottenham and England football players including midfielder James Maddison, Ledley King, Gary Mabbutt and Ossie Ardiles.

Itai Galmudy, Tottenham fan and founder of Stop the Hate, the group behind Sunday's celebratory event, said: 'We organised this to say welcome back to Emily.

'For too long we have been waiting, dreaming that she [Emily] would be released.

'And to be quite frank we knew it was a real possibility that this day will never come.

'We campaigned for her here in the rain, sun, in the good times, the bad times.

'And to have her coming to the Spurs stadium today is the crescendo of this entire campaign.

'We could not have imagined a better outcome.

Mother-of-five Tracy Levi, 53, who attended the event on Sunday, added: 'It is quite surreal seeing this person that you know from a sticker in real life.

'I can't even begin to imagine what she went through, and the strength of resilience she has shown should be a lesson to everybody.

'We haven't forgotten about any of the hostages and we will keep fighting until they are all home.'

Paul Scholes believes Tottenham Hotspur will be considered the favourites going into the Europa League final, but still expects Manchester United to come out on top.

Spurs have beaten United three times this season, including a 3-0 win at Old Trafford in the Premier League in September and a dramatic 4–3 home triumph in the Carabao Cup in December.

In fact, United have not beaten Spurs in any of their last six meetings, but Scholes is banking on European experience to make the difference in Bilbao.

Writing in his TNT Sports column, the former England midfielder said: 'When you look at the recent matches between the two teams, then you'll probably have to make Tottenham the slight favourites.

'But Manchester United are used to being in finals. Even in recent bad periods, they're still reaching finals and winning trophies and I think that experience is big.'

Despite his backing for United, Scholes admitted he enjoys watching Ange Postecoglou's Spurs team and expects them to play the better football on the night.

'Tottenham will probably be the best team on the night,' he added. 'But I just think United will have enough to win.'

United are narrowly favoured by UK bookmakers, although Spurs' strong form in Europe, including knockout wins over AZ Alkmaar, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt, has made them serious contenders.

Both clubs have rotated heavily in recent weeks to preserve their top players for Europe, effectively writing off their woeful Premier League campaigns.

United started the weekend 15th in the table, one point and one place above Spurs. The Red Devils thrashed Athletic Bilbao 7-1 over two legs in their Europa League semi-final but failed to beat Brentford, Bournemouth, Wolves, Newcastle, Man City and Nottingham Forest in their last six domestic outings.

Scholes, who scored 155 goals in 718 appearances for United between 1994 and 2013 and won 25 trophies, feels uneasy with how Ruben Amorim has seemingly thrown in the towel in the Premier League.

The Portuguese coach has been in charge since November and the Europa League final will be his 41st match in the United dugout. A win would see United qualify for next season's Champions League.

'United should be able to play in two or three competitions at once without sacrificing something, and they've clearly sacrificed the league,' Scholes said.

'I think it's quite risky sacrificing the Premier League for the sake of Champions League football next year.'

But Scholes still believes Amorim has long-term potential and can take inspiration from Mikel Arteta's journey at Arsenal.

Arsenal finished eighth in each of Arteta's first two seasons as manager but they have since placed fifth, second and second.

The Gunners look likely to finish second again this term, but European success is no longer on the menu after Arteta's men exited the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.

Scholes said: 'I would swap United's season this year for Arsenal's campaign even if they go on and win the Europa League. All day long.

'It wouldn't be a bad example for Amorim to take. He can have a look at Arsenal and just study what Arteta has done over recent years. It might be the starting block for United.'

Scholes also urged the club to do everything possible to keep hold of captain Bruno Fernandes, who has been linked with a possible move to Saudi Arabia.

'Bruno has to stay because he's the best player,' he said. 'He's involved in nearly everything United do well. It's quite clear they need to keep him and build a team around him.'

When Harry Kane went out on loan to Leyton Orient and Millwall at the dawn of his career and felt the chill of the lower leagues, it was in the hope that at some stage of his football life that was to come, he would be lucky enough to experience a day like this Saturday in Bavaria.

When he struggled to find acceptance at Tottenham Hotspur, he played for days like this when Bayern Munich fans sat at the wooden tables outside the famous old Gasthaus Isarthor in the city centre a few hours before the game, gulping back their glasses of Augustiner pilsner, wearing shirts with Kane's name on the back.

When the first chance of a trophy passed him by as Spurs lost to Chelsea in the 2015 League Cup final, he plugged away in the hope of days like this when Bayern fans poured on to the Metro at Odeonsplatz and began the pilgrimage to the Allianz Arena to watch their team play Borussia Monchengladbach and then lift the Bundesliga shield that they clinched a few days ago.

When he suffered the pain of losing out to Leicester City for the Premier League title when so many thought it was Spurs' to win in 2016, he returned in the hope of days like this when the final whistle blew at the end of a game and even he, even Kane the ultimate professional, the understated leader, would spend much of the next hour running around the pitch like a happy kid, pitchers of beer in his hands, looking for team-mates to drench and being drenched back. After being the object of so much schadenfreude for so long, nobody could mock him for his lack of trophies any longer.

When he came back from injury to play in the 2019 Champions League final and Spurs lost to Liverpool, he began the climb back towards the summit for days like this when he could gaze around this monument to football dominance, a place steeped in victory, and let the sensations ripple around him and know, at last, that this is what triumph tastes like.

When he was a runner-up again in the Premier League in 2017, this time to Chelsea, he went back to the well for days like this when he gilded Bayern's day of celebration of their 34th German title with a brilliant instinctive first-half header that put them 1-0 up against Monchengladbach and took his record in German league football to a remarkable 61 goals in 62 games.

He is 31 now and this was the day that England's captain and record goalscorer lifted the trophy that meant he was a nearly man no longer. This was the day that a shadow fell away from him.

This was the day when one of the greatest players England has ever produced was finally free of the taint of disappointment and failure that has clung to him, with club and country, for so long.

Generations of England players have grown used to their international careers being defined by the failure to emulate the World Cup win of 1966 but many of them have found solace in glories for their clubs. Not Kane. Not until now.

He is a son of the club of Danny Blanchflower, the man who talked so lyrically of football as a glory game, but for Kane, this is the first time that glory has wrapped him in its embrace. He is part of a glory machine here. This match, which Bayern won 2-0 after a late second from Michael Olise, also served as an emotional farewell to Thomas Muller, who was playing his last home game for the club and his 750th in all.

When he was honoured on the pitch before the game, he was presented with a picture that showed him sitting among the 33 trophies he has won in his senior career here. Kane has one to those 33 but he is a part of that history now. He is a champion at last.

This must have tasted particularly sweet for Kane, who came off in added time at the end of the match. He knew his lack of trophies was his career Achilles heel.

He knew, too, that his critics had taken particular glee in the fact that he had arrived at Bayern last season after the German giants had won the title for the previous 11 seasons in succession, only for them promptly to lose the Bun-desliga to Xabi Alonso's all-conquering Bayer Leverkusen.

Kane's detractors said he was a jinx but, as he celebrated in the bright evening chill at the Allianz Arena, it was Kane who laughed longest. The fact that Bayern were beaten to the title by Leverkusen last season actually gives Kane's triumph this season more meaning. If this had been Bayern's 13th title in a row, it would have made it feel as if Bayern's wins were automatic, a symptom of a one-team league, something that kept happening whoever pulled on the shirt.

Instead, Bayern's failure gave their victory this season context. It was something they had to fight for. And Kane has been germane to Bayern re-establishing their dominance and putting Lever-kusen firmly back in their place.

No one can argue now that Kane's move to Germany has not been a runaway success. He scored 36 goals in his debut Bundesliga campaign and he has scored 25 more this season, making him, once more, the league's leading striker. He has scored 80 goals in 89 appearances for Bayern in all competitions.

Only Gerd Muller and Robert Lewandowski, who Kane was effectively signed to replace, have scored more league goals in a single Bundesliga season than Kane did in his first year but there are other records that the England captain has eclipsed.

In April, he became the fastest player to hit 60 goals in the competition, at a rate of a goal a game. That meant he broke the previous record, held by Erling Haaland, by five games. He has added 15 assists to that goals total, too.

Individual accolades are nothing new. He won three Premier League Golden Boots. He won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup. But what happened here on Saturday was different. Careers are measured by what you win with a team.

Team honours are what define you as a footballer and now, to add to all his gleaming boots and his hundreds of goals, Kane has a winner's medal. Maybe Spurs will follow him across the line in Bilbao in 10 days by winning the Europa League. Kane would love that just as Spurs fans are relishing what he has achieved in Munich.

He ended his day walking down a red carpet across the pitch, and climbing on to a stage that had been hastily erected close to the centre circle. A man in a suit hung a medal around his neck and the announcer yelled out: 'Harry Kane, Deutsche Meister.'

He stood amongst his team-mates as Muller lifted the shield and then took his turn with it. Every player did it and every time, Kane threw his hands into the air to celebrate, as if he could never get enough of the ritual.

As the celebrations wore on and Kane continued to cheer every player who lifted the shield with the same gusto as the first time, Freddie Mercury's voice came over the loudspeaker. 'I've done my sentence but committed no crime,' he sang. 'I've had my share of sand kicked in my face, but I've come through.' Kane is a champion and a shadow has left him.

Tottenham have been handed a major injury boost as they gear up for the Europa League final this month - with one player set to return this weekend.

Spurs booked their spot in Bilbao on May 21 and will take on Manchester United after beating Bodo/Glimt 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals of the competition.

Ange Postecoglou has been forced to deal with several injury headaches over the course of the season and his side have slumped down to 16th in the Premier League.

However, they could end the campaign on a high by winning a first trophy since 2008.

The latest regular to be ruled out is James Maddison and the playmaker will miss the rest of the campaign after suffering a knee injury in the first leg against Bodo/Glimt.

But Postecoglou has been handed some belated good news with captain Son Heung-min expected to return to the fold against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Son has missed the past seven matches with a foot issue but his availability is timely.

'Everyone got through OK the other night,' Postecoglou said in his press conference.

'Half-hopeful that we get Sonny some minutes tomorrow so he'll be the only one that sort of can come back in. I think what we do know about Thursday night, playing on an artificial pitch takes a lot out of the players - it's fair to say they were sore.

'I remember when we played Tamworth, we actually got a couple of injuries in the game straight after that, I think, because of the surface.

'We've got to be careful about Sunday's game, but next Friday it's a bit different.

'I think we've just got to make decisions we think [are right].

'Ultimately we want to be in a great condition come the final, so we'll use that.'

Postecoglou admitted he has found it difficult to manage the fitness of his players after the sheer number of absentees rendered his squad threadbare.

'We have tried to navigate that for the last couple of months, particularly with Micky [van de Ven], [Cristian] Romero and Destiny [Udogie] to have missed a huge chunk of the season,' he said. 'When these guys come back you really have to manage them.

'Romero and Micky had a couple of setbacks after coming back so we have to change our path and processes and part of that is just managing their minutes.

'They need to get some game time before the final, though unlikely to be tomorrow.'