Written by Paul Michael Ezeoha
Estadio de san Mames, Bilbao, in the Basque region of Spain - is the venue for today's all English Europa League final, as Manchester United face off against Tottenham Hotspurs.
With both teams currently in the bottom 10 berth of the English Premier League, they would battle tooth and nail for this prestigious prize as it's a one-way ticket to next season's Champions League.
Whereas the Red Devils are no new faces in the final of the Europa League - having featured twice in 2016/17 and 2020/2021 seasons, where they won it once - Tottenham make their first appearance in the final of this competition since it was rebranded in 2009.
So, this final presents an opportunity for Spurs to take home their first major trophy since 2008 - a fit that could prove advantageous to their under-fire head coach, Ange Postecoglou's future at the club.
Manchester United on the other hand would be seeking to put smiles on the frowning faces of their fans by winning a trophy against the backdrop of a horrible season.
In this article, attention shall be given to several facts as it relates to both teams. Also, using these facts, the analyst shall give prediction on the outcome of this fixture.
HEAD-TO HEAD
These two teams have never played against each other in any UEFA competition. But they have quite ample number of encounters in English competitions.
In total, they have faced off against each other 204 times, with Man United winning 96 of these fixtures, Tottenham, 57, while 51 of these encounters have ended in draws.
This season, they've played 3 matches, and in all, Tottenham were victorious.
These are the scorelines for these games:
* 1-0 victory at home
* 4-3 victory at home
* 0-3 victory away at United's
PERFORMANCE IN THE EUROPA LEAGUE
Man United have been in hot form in the Europa League this season. They are in fact the only team without any lose in all three of UEFA's competitions this season.
In the knockout phase, they played quite challenging opponents in the persons of Real Sociedad in the round of 16, Olympic Lyonnais in quarter finals and Atletico Bilbao in the semi-finals.
For the fixture against Real Sociedad, they played out a 1-1 draw at San Sabastian to then pip them 3-0 at Old Trafford. This was a similar circumstance to the tie against Lyonnais, where they drew 1-1 in France, to then defeat the French side 5-4 in England. Their encounter against Atletico Bilbao was way too easy than expected, as they thrashed the Spaniards 3-0 in the first leg and 4-1 in the return leg tie.
Tottenham, although are not in excellent form like Manchester United, can be given a ranking slightly above average in terms of performance so far in this competition.
In the knockout phase, it could be said that they played against less tougher opponents compared to that of Man United.
This claim is so because, among the three teams they played against, two of them - AZ Alkmaar and Sturm Graz - play in leagues outside the top 5 European leagues namely Germany, France, England, Spain and Italy, while the remaining one, Frankfurt, who play the German league, fall under the top 5 European league.
They played AZ Alkmaar in the round of 16, with both legs ending in 1-0 lose away and 3-1 victory at home. Frankfurt was their opponent in the quarter final. The first leg of their encounter at the White Heart Lane ended in a 1-1 draw, while the second leg in Germany saw them vanquishing their opponents 0-1. Against Sturm Graz in the semifinal, they ran riot with 4 goal difference in both ties, winning the first leg at home 3-0 and the second leg 1-2.
TEAM NEWS
Both teams have dissimilar degrees of injury scares and worries going into this final.
For Manchester United, they only have few important names ruled out for this final, with players like Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Light being confirmed to be absent from this tie. Also, there seem to be good news for them, as Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee and Diogo Dalot, who were side-lined for some while because of injury, were spotted training alongside their teammates in Manchester United's Carrington training ground on Tuesday in preparation for the final. So, this means that these players could be listed in the squad for the final.
Conversely, Tottenham face great injury crisis. They are currently without 6 of their first team player: Dejan Kulevsevski, Dragusin, Timo Werner, James Maddison, Bergvall and Scarlett.
CONCLUSION
To wrap things up, this fixture between these two clubs would make it the second all English final in the history of Europa League.
Both teams would look set to go all out for this prestigious European prize as it's their only chance for a place in next season's UEFA Champions League competition.
Giving a prognosis on the winners of this final won't be an easy task. But certain facts are clear to us: firstly, given both teams encounter in the league this season, Tottenham have more wins. Secondly, United have excellent record in this competition, as they've never lost any game - although Tottenham have also been in fairly good form in the competition. Lastly, both teams experience somewhat of a different degree of injury crisis, with Tottenham having more key players side-lined for this tie than Manchester United.
So, from the above stated facts, it could be said that United have an edge over Tottenham going into this final.
Let's not forget United's experience in this competition, having already played in two finals within the 2010's period. So, this is an added advantage for them.
With these, United have are rated to have 60% chance of winning this final, while Tottenham are given 40%.
While statistics can tell us one thing, we should bear in mind that anything can happen in the game of football.
This being said, this tie is as good as open for any team to emerge winners.
Very apt. However, though Manchester United have the higher probability of winning, I stand strongly behind Tottenham Hotspur.
ReplyDelete