EL Final 24/25 Preview – Spurs or Man Utd?

Spurs and Man Utd clash in the EL final tomorrow, with both teams desperate for a trophy after a disappointing season. Let’s take a closer look at the upcoming final!

All-English Final in Bilbao

Given the terrible seasons that both Tottenham and Manchester United have had, it is a surprise that both of them have made it to a European final. The match will be played in the San Mames in Bilbao on Wednesday evening and is the eleventh tournament final to feature two teams from the same association and the third all-English final. Overall, this is the 54th season of Europe’s second tier tournament and the 16th since it was rebranded to its current name. The winner of the tournament gets a place in the following season’s CL, a huge bonus for both of the clubs in the final this year. The host club, Athletic Bilbao, were close to reaching a dream home final this season, but were eliminated at the semi final stage by Manchester United. 

A trophy to save the season?

Tottenham and Manchester United will be desperate to make the most of this opportunity to salvage what has been a terrible season, with the two teams down in 16th and 17th place in the league standings, with just one week to go. This is the sixth European final to be contested between two English sides and it is the third time that Tottenham will face another English side in a final. Tottenham will be desperate to win their first trophy in seventeen years, whereas Manchester United have at least managed to pick up some trophies in their recent underwhelming seasons. The likelihood is that Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou will not survive no matter the result in this match, but a defeat will guarantee his departure. He promised to win a trophy in his second season, and he is on course to do that. Another important positive for the Londoners is that they have won all three of the prior head to heads this season. Dominic Solanke has scored in all of his last four matches against Manchester United and managed to contribute nine goals in the EL this season. Tottenham will be without a number of key players, as they have been for most of the season. James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Timo Werner and Lucas Bergvall have all been ruled out of this match. 

Manchester United’s season hangs on this result and they have so far managed to up their level whenever playing in the EL. Ruben Amorim recently admitted that he too is under pressure, and admitted that their incredibly poor league form since he took over has been unacceptable. The players seem able to lift themselves for the EL though, and he will be hoping for one last big effort in this year’s EL final. If he does manage to guide United to a win, he would only be the third United manager to do so in his first season in charge. The fact that they are undefeated in the competition all season, with nine wins and five draws so far. They have managed 35 goals, a stark contrast to their domestic form yet again and they will be hoping these positive statistics can guide them to their second EL success in the last eight years. They have struggled against Tottenham of late though, not winning any of the last six clashes. As is always the case, the key man for Manchester United is likely to be Bruno Fernandes, the only player who has lived up to his billing of late. He will need to put in a captain’s performance and guide his team mates if United are to have any chance. United have a few injuries to deal with too with Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Lisandro Martinez and Matias de Ligt all likely to be missing. This could be the last appearance for a number of United players, with Victor Lindelof and Christian Eriksen among those who are leaving the club in the summer but might play some role here. Striker Rasmus Hojlund would be desperate to put in a positive performance and score in this final to silence some of his critics and end a terrible personal season on a positive note. 

We hope for an entertaining clash and with both proving to be poor defensively, we can expect a lively match which is highly unlikely to finish goalless. With so much on the line, one club will be very relieved on Thursday morning, whereas another will be devastated to have ended the season on such a poor note, it all comes down to one final match. 

Please note that the odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.

Last updated: 20.05.25