Football London

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has guaranteed that next week's Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur will be entirely different to their three other meetings this season.

This season, Ange Postecoglou's side have struggled and find themselves one place above the relegation zone in the Premier League. While Tottenham cannot be relegated, positive performances have been hard to come by except against United.

In three matches, Tottenham have been victorious three times with an aggregate scoreline of 8-3. Their most recent meeting came in February when James Maddison's goal was the difference at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

However, Spurs will be without Maddison for the Europa League final due to injury and Amorim is confident that will not be the only difference when the two teams meet for the fourth time on Wednesday night. "A final is different," the Portuguese manager told reporters prior to the Premier League clash with Chelsea.

"But this season has been really tough on everybody; the results and the changes in the staff. You can feel it.

"We are addressing that during the season, we are changing the way we play during the season, so the environment is tough. But I guarantee you when we are playing a game in the Europa League the environment is different and you can feel the excitement."

Neither United nor Spurs need reminding of the importance of the clash in Bilbao. While for both clubs it is an opportunity to end the season with major silverware, it is also a pass to the promise land of the Champions League.

The victors of the competition will be the Premier League's sixth representatives in the Champions League league phase next season. The English top flight had already been handed a fifth Champions League spot for next season thanks to their superior co-efficient ranking.

Liverpool are the only club to have guaranteed their spot in the competition next season. Arsenal need just one more point to effectively confirm their place.

A victory for Newcastle United over the Gunners on Sunday would all but confirm their spot in the Champions League while Manchester City would also be extremely close to a top-five finish with a win. The final spot will go to either Chelsea, Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest who are separated by goal difference and a point respectively.

Broadcaster TNT Sports have confirmed that Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League final against Manchester United will be made free for all supporters to watch.

Ange Postecoglou's side travel to Bilbao, Spain, next Wednesday, May 21 for a clash with their English rivals in an attempt to win the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

There is also huge significance in how season-defining this battle is for both clubs, as Man United sit 16th and Spurs 17th in the Premier League standings. Both have endured tough times and Champions League qualification as a result of winning the Europa League final would be a huge boost.

So with great interest building in this all-English final, TNT Sports - who have shown Europa Football in the UK all season long - have confirmed that the final will be free-to-air on their Discovery+ app.

The same goes for the Conference League final between Chelsea and Real Betis on Wednesday, May 28, and the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan on Saturday, May 31.

It is UEFA themselves who insist that their broadcast partners make the major club competition finals free for all to watch.

In this case on the Discovery+ app, normally anybody with a valid TNT Sports subscription should be able to sign in on the app either on desktop or mobile devices.

Further details of how those without subscriptions can gain access should be available closer to the date of the match.

Providing Spurs analysis for TNT on the night is confirmed to be former favourites Gareth Bale and Glenn Hoddle.

The pair will be joined by former Man United players Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand.

Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham team selection looks set to be a talking point one way or another when his side take on Aston Villa on Friday evening. As Spurs are in Europa League final action next Wednesday, the Australian will undoubtedly have one eye on the game in Bilbao and that may be clear to see when it comes to his starting XI.

Following the news that Dejan Kulusevski has had to undergo knee surgery after coming off injured in last weekend's defeat at Crystal Palace, Postecoglou may want to keep his top players on the sidelines amid the threat of new injury issues emerging. On the other hand, a number of his team do need to get minutes in the tank as they do not want to be going into the final after not playing for almost a fortnight.

So how exactly should Tottenham line up against Unai Emery's side? Our Tottenham writers at football.london have made their selection picks below.

Alasdair Gold - Tottenham Hotspur correspondent

Ange Postecoglou needs to strike a balance between ensuring no more injuries but also not having his players go almost two weeks without any match action before they take on Manchester United in Bilbao.

The likely starters next Wednesday will need tuning up but they don't need to play the full game and the Spurs boss could for instance change Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Yves Bissouma or Rodrigo Bentancur at half-time which is what he did against Forest late last month with the central defensive duo.

The midfield is a bit more challenging with so few bodies and up front Son Heung-min needs to play an hour I'd say to get his conditioning up and then Postecoglou could give Dominic Solanke and Richarlison a portion of the match each.

Ultimately the result of this game isn't as important as keeping the players fine tuned for a European final and not suffering any further injuries.

Gold's team: Vicario; Spence, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Bissouma, Sarr; Johnson, Solanke, Son.

Rob Guest - Football writer

All Tottenham supporters will want Ange Postecoglou's key players wrapped up in cotton wool over the next week considering the Dejan Kulusevski injury news that emerged on Wednesday. In what has been such a wretched season on the injury front, Spurs cannot afford any further issues ahead of next week's Europa League final.

With that said, Postecoglou does actually need to give some of his players minutes after they didn't feature in last weekend's home defeat against Crystal Palace. Players really don't want to be going into a final having not played for two weeks and it may be a case of the boss giving them 45 minutes and switching things up at half-time.

Guglielmo Vicario may return in goal, with Djed Spence, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie making up the backline. Micky van de Ven can then come off the bench later in the game if Postecoglou opts to top his minutes up.

This may be the game to rest Rodrigo Bentancur as he started last weekend, although Spurs are rather short in the middle as things stand. Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr start together in midfield and then Wilson Odobert is given another go as a No.10 amid the lack of options in the position right now.

Son Heung-min has to start after only just returning from injury and Brennan Johnson gets the nod on the right. It will then be a decision between Richarlison and Dominic Solanke to lead the line to begin with in the Midlands.

Guest's team: Vicario; Spence, Romero, Davies, Udogie; Bissouma, Sarr; Johnson, Odobert, Son; Richarlison.

Tottenham face one of their biggest games in recent history on Wednesday night as they take on Manchester United in San Mames in the final of the UEFA Europa League.

The Champions League final of 2019 - which was an unmitigated disaster of a match - is the only other clash in the last 30 years which surpasses Wednesday night's match for magnitude.

A diabolical Premier League campaign can be salvaged by winning the first piece of silverware in 17 years and a first European trophy in 41 long years.

The season and perhaps Ange Postecoglou's future - although there are plenty of rumours that he will depart N17 no matter what happens in Bilbao on Wednesday night - hinges on the result.

But while a trophy is the main thing on the agenda, particularly for the long-suffering Tottenham supporters, there are a number of other things in the background that rest on Spurs lifting the Europa League trophy.

A place in the Champions League

Rightly or wrongly, and it does feel like far too many pundits are having their say on this issue because United and Spurs find themselves in 16th and 17th place respectively in the Premier League table, winning the Europa League brings with it qualification to next season's Champions League.

Europe's premier club competition is where every team yearns to be, playing against the biggest teams on the continent for the biggest prize of all.

As we've mentioned above, Spurs have made the final once before in 2019 and going all the way will be high on the agenda for an ambitious chairman like Daniel Levy.

Financial gain

Speaking of Levy, winning the Europa League will lead to a huge payout.

The Europa League champions take home €8.6million, which equates to £7.2million. That's not a massive figure in the grand scheme of things, but there is more to it than that.

In this season's Champions League, every team that qualified for the league phase received a windfall of €18.62million (£15.7million).

And then there's the money you get for winning games and qualifying for the knockouts in the top tier competition, which is much more than in the Europa League.

Spurs will immediately pocket almost £23million if they lift the trophy, with the promise of more to come in the Champions League.

Transfer help

Every player wants to play in the UEFA Champions League and qualifying for the league phase will help Tottenham in the summer transfer window.

The Lilywhites will have something more to offer potential signings and as mentioned above, will actually have more money to spend on new players.

Being in the Champions League - as well as having lifted a trophy which would show prospective signings Spurs are a club that can actually do that - opens new doors and will put Tottenham on a similar level to the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United when negotiating with stars.

The 2024/25 season has already come to a conclusion for a handful of Tottenham players who spent the campaign away from the club. For those not involved in the EFL play-offs, the season ended at the beginning of the month.

Manor Solomon finished his time at Leeds United by helping the West Yorkshire club win the Championship title on the final day, Will Lankshear and West Brom missed out on the play-offs and Ashley Phillips played his part in Stoke City avoiding the drop down to League One. Yang Min-hyeok was another Spurs man to play in the Championship after joining QPR on loan at the end of January.

It proved to be a very good loan spell across the capital for the South Korean youngster and this summer he will have the opportunity to get his Tottenham career firmly up and running. Amid question marks over how the teenager would fare in the Championship, he finished his time at QPR with two goals and one assist in 14 games.

Yang wowed in his performances on the wing and he has certainly left plenty of Tottenham fans excited about what he can bring to the team in the years ahead. Confirming the arrival of the winger from Gangwon FC in late July, it wasn't until the end of December when the teenager would make the move to N17 following the end of the K League season.

Given time to adapt to his new surroundings and life under Ange Postecoglou, Yang did in fact make the matchday squad on three occasions for Tottenham prior to joining QPR. He was an unused substitute in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg win against Liverpool and also the Premier League defeats against Everton and Leicester City, though.

Following his time with QPR, this summer could be viewed as a fresh start for him at Tottenham as he bids to become a regular member of the first-team squad in the 2025/26 season. An opportunity should be there for him to pull on a Tottenham shirt for the very first time in pre-season as the head coach will want to give his players sufficient minutes and take a close look at them.

Plenty of Tottenham youngsters have been given regular pitch time in pre-season in years gone by, with Alfie Devine, Jamie Donley and Lankshear featuring heavily for the club last summer. As things stand right now, Tottenham have only confirmed one pre-season friendly, with that coming against north London rivals Arsenal in Hong Kong on Thursday, July 31.

Spurs' summer schedule should become clearer in the weeks ahead and it may prove to be the period where Yang really makes Tottenham fans sit up and take notice. The Gwangju-born player certainly has plenty of competition for a place in the team, with Son Heung-min, Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore, Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson and Richarlison all options out wide.

It remains to be seen what will happen with Solomon after his Leeds loan success and Tottenham have to decide whether or not to sign Mathys Tel on a permanent contract. Spurs splurged £143.5million on Odobert, Dominic Solanke, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall last summer and all eyes will be on their business in the months ahead given their disastrous Premier League campaign.

For Yang, all he can do is take his opportunity when it comes his way in pre-season and hope that is enough to become part of the first-team plans in 2025/26. The wait to make his first appearance for Tottenham may not be too far away at all now that the current campaign is coming to a close.

Dejan Kulusevski has broken his silence for the first time since Tottenham confirmed the forward had undergone surgery on a knee injury suffered in the Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace.

The Sweden international was forced off against the Eagles on Sunday afternoon, coming at the worst possible time for Spurs ahead of next week's Europa League final with Manchester United.

Kulusevski joins James Maddison as key players out for the rest of the season with Lucas Bergvall also unlikely to be back for the showdown in Bilbao.

A club statement on Wednesday evening read: "We can confirm that Dejan Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella in our Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace last weekend.

"Following further specialist consultation, the midfielder has undergone surgery today and will commence his rehabilitation with our medical staff immediately. We're all with you, Deki."

Speaking out for the first time since his season ending injury was confirmed, Kulusevski posted a compilation of his best goals and assists for the north Londoners throughout the season on social media.

Alongside his volley against Liverpool, flick against Manchester United and glorious strike against West Ham, he put: "Realest one u ever seen. For the people that I gave joy this year. Thanku I appreciate you and I love you.

"I pray for you. Don't be sad we will be back and we coming for everybody."

Ange Postecoglou will face the media on Thursday ahead of Friday night's Premier League clash with Aston Villa. The Spurs boss is likely to rest as many of his preferred starters at Villa Park with Wednesday night in mind.

Dejan Kulusevski is going to miss the Europa League final.

Tottenham have not actually ruled the Swede out of the big game in Bilbao, but an injury update on Wednesday - a week before the clash with Manchester United in San Mames, has all-but ruled him out.

Kulusevski has undergone surgery on a patella injury suffered in the first 15 minutes of the Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend and will now begin his rehabilitation work.

With the Europa League final in seven days, Kulusevski is simply not going to make it.

"We can confirm that Dejan Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella in our Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace last weekend," read a Tottenham statement that was published on Wednesday evening.

"Following further specialist consultation, the midfielder has undergone surgery today and will commence his rehabilitation with our medical staff immediately. We're all with you, Deki."

With Tottenham already missing James Maddison to a knee injury picked up in the semi-final first leg with Bodo/Glimt, Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou has something of a headache when it comes to selecting his team for the big game with United.

Wilson Odobert played in the No.10 role after Kulusevski went off against Palace but did not cover himself in any glory. So who plays there against United in the biggest match of the season?

There is a surprise option in the form of Lucas Bergvall. Bergvall has not been ruled out of the clash in San Mames, but is highly doubtful to make the contest, having damaged ligaments in his ankle prior to the second leg clash with Bodo/Glimt.

The Swede has been seen wearing a protective boot over the last few days, but reports have suggested he is working hard to make the final. His teenage body may recover quicker than older teammates but it would be a huge surprise to see him in the starting lineup.

It would be a massive boost for Postecoglou and Spurs though, who could then name Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma in the No.6 and No.8 roles.

Speaking last week, Postecoglou said: "That is unlikely. If we had another two weeks, potentially he could. I am sure he will be trying."

Archie Gray has revealed that Tottenham's 3-2 defeat against Galatasaray was a key point for the team on the way to securing their place in the Europa League final. Next Wednesday evening will see Ange Postecoglou's side come up against Premier League rivals Manchester United in the showpiece finale in Bilbao.

Amid Tottenham's struggles domestically this season with the team remarkably losing 20 times in the league, only two sides have defeated them in the Europa League since their campaign got underway in late September. The first of those came in early November as Galatasaray won 3-2 in Istanbul in what was an extraordinary game at RAMS Park.

Playing in such an intense atmosphere, Postecoglou's young Spurs team found themselves 3-1 down at half-time. They were perhaps lucky it was only three prior to Dominic Solanke's goal 21 minutes from time given the hosts had 28 shots on goal compared to Tottenham's five over the course of the 90 minutes.

A first for players such as Gray and Lucas Bergvall with the youngsters experiencing a very hostile welcome to Galatasaray's home, the former has revealed that it was a "big learning curve" for the team in Europe. Only losing one more time against AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of their round of 16 tie, Tottenham will now be doing everything they can to avoid defeat in Bilbao next Wednesday as they bid to put an end to their trophy hoodoo for good.

"Starting against Qarabag, it was a really proud moment," Gray told Tottenham's official website. "Playing in a European competition for this club and playing in Europe in general is something a lot of people don’t get to do in their careers, so I’m very grateful for that.

"Galatasaray, obviously with the atmosphere, I’ve never witnessed anything like that in football. We couldn't hear ourselves... every time we touched the ball it was just whistles. We couldn't hear a thing! It was a tough game, and we learned from it.

"It was crazy, and a big learning curve for us, especially in Europe, experiencing different ways of teams playing, stadiums, atmospheres and just getting used to it all. I'll probably say that was the point we realised, ‘right, we're in for a journey here’ and from there, we’ve looked solid.

"I loved every second of it. You don’t get to experience atmospheres like that too often. That adds more to the game as well. It was an intense game, we had a red card, then we almost brought it back. It’s an experience I’ll never forget."

So what would winning the Europa League in his debut season at the club mean for Gray? The former Leeds United man said: "It would be a very proud moment for me and my family, to us all as a team, especially for my brothers to be able to look up to me and for me to be able to say I’d won a trophy."

Tottenham have confirmed that Dejan Kulusevski has undergone surgery on a knee injury suffered in Sunday's defeat against Crystal Palace. The news regarding the Swede comes at the worst possible time for Ange Postecoglou as it means the attacking midfielder is now set to miss next Wednesday's Europa League final showdown against Manchester United.

Spurs have already seen James Maddison ruled out for the season with a knee injury and Postecoglou recently revealed that it is unlikely Lucas Bergvall will be back for the final following an ankle injury picked up in training at the start of May. That in turn gives the north London club a real headache in terms of creativity from midfield going into next week's European final.

"We can confirm that Dejan Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella in our Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace last weekend," read a Tottenham statement that was published on Wednesday evening.

"Following further specialist consultation, the midfielder has undergone surgery today and will commence his rehabilitation with our medical staff immediately. We're all with you, Deki."

Kulusevski has been a pivotal figure for Tottenham over the course of the season and he will be a huge miss for the team in Bilbao next Wednesday. Prior to making the trip to Spain, Spurs have Aston Villa away to come in the Premier League on Friday evening and that presents Postecoglou with the opportunity to try and find a solution as Spurs look to end their long wait for a trophy.

The Spurs boss is due to hold his pre-match press conference at Hotspur Way on Thursday afternoon and the news surrounding Kulusevski will be top of the agenda.

Much has been made of the teams in 16th and 17th in the Premier League facing off against one another, not just to win the Europa League, but also to secure a place in next season's Champions League.

For one of Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester United will save their dismal domestic season and claim a much-needed piece of silverware and with it qualification for the Champions League.

A number of pundits and former players and managers have had their say on whether or not it is right that either team should be in next season's top European tournament, but the fact is one of them will be, because those are the rules.

Ange Postecoglou is under immense pressure at Tottenham and there are rumours that no matter what happens in the Europa League final in Bilbao next week his time in N17 may be up.

Manchester United have already made a managerial change this season, replacing Erik ten Hag with Ruben Amorim, but away from the Europa League, things have arguably got worse under the Portuguese.

Speaking on the Overlap Fan Debate, United legend Paul Scholes delivered a damning verdict of Amorim and the way he plays football.

He said: "We talk about the system as well, how many times have we talked about the system and he's still not getting results? OK Europa League, yeah, but surely you can't just carry on doing the same thing every week? You don't even watch games at the weekend anymore because you know they're going to lose."

The same can be said of Postecoglou at Spurs. Supporters have grown tired of the same high defensive line, attacking football that has failed to yield results in the Premier League..

The Australian has changed things in the Europa League and there have been good away performances against the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt that have been more pragmatic.