. See the current injury list for all Premier League Teams
. All the Spurs Stats you could hope for here! THFC6061 Sports Stats
Spurs' record in Europe:-
U.E.F.A Champions League
P W D L F - A
53 22 12 19 90 - 75
(Finalists 2019)
European Cup
P W D L F - A
8 4 1 3 21 - 13
(Semi-Finalists 1962)
European Cup Winners Cup
P W D L F - A
33 20 5 8 65 - 34
(Winners 1963)
UEFA Cup/Europa League
P W D L F - A
167 97 40 30 342-147
(Winners 1972, 1984
Finalists 1974)
Europa Conference League
P W D L F - A
7 3 1 3 14 - 9
+ Forfeited one game due to Covid - 09/12/21)
Total
P W D L F - A
268 146 59 63 530-278
Final Europa League Placings
Pos P W D L F-A GD Pts
Man Utd 3 8 5 3 0 16-9 7 18
Spurs 4 8 5 2 1 17-9 8 17
Europa League Placings in full
Man Utd Europa League record 2024/25
League phase:-
Man Utd 1-1 FC Twente
Porto 3-3 Man Utd
Fenerbahce 1-1 Man Utd
Man Utd 2-0 PAOK
Man Utd 3-2 Bodo/Glimt
Viktoria Plzen 1-2 Man Utd
Man Utd 2-1 Rangers
FCSB 0-2 Man Utd
Round of 16
Real Sociedad 1-1 Man Utd
Man Utd 4-1 Real Sociedad
Quarter-Final
Lyon 2-2 Man Utd
Man Utd 5-4 Lyon
(a.e.t)
Semi-Final
Ath. Bilbao 0-3 Man Utd
Man Utd 4-1 Ath. Bilbao
. The road to Bilbao - Part One - The 8-match League phase
. The road to Bilbao - Part Two - The knock-out phase
Who will bask in glory in Basque territory?
This is a meeting of two dysfunctional Premier League clubs in the Europa League Final in the Basque city of Bilbao. 16th and 17th in their domestic league table Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have to travel abroad for their fourth meeting of the season. Having won the previous three games, can Spurs, for the first time, beat United on four occasions in the same season? Who will be basking in the glory of not only victory in Basque territory, but also the promise of Champions League football next season? We will have to see. (Live on TNT/Discovery from 6pm)
Whichever of the two sides does win will break the record for the lowest league position of any European title winner from this country - held by West Ham, 14th when landing the Conference League in 2023. I don't think the winners of this game will be claiming to be "Champions of Europe!" There has been much criticism in the press about the worthiness of either team qualifying for Champions League football, but the prize for winning this competition has been in place for several years now and Sevilla were mid-table when they beat Inter on penalties in 2023. Rules are rules!
Both United and Spurs were regarded as hot favourites to win this tournament at the start of the season. United finished eighth in the league last year, but gained entry by beating their City rivals 2-1 in the FA Cup Final. Thus Eric Ten Hag held onto his job for the current season, but was sacked after defeat at West Ham at the end of October. By then, United had managed just three draws in their opening Europa League games. United won their remaining five Europa League phase games. The first over PAOK was with Ruud van Nistelrooy in temporary charge. After that Ruben Amorim had taken over.
Both clubs have had similar seasons. Since Christmas they've both dropped to the bottom half and winning this competition became the clear objective for each. If the Championship play-off final is the biggest game in this country, then winning tomorrow night's game (8pm - TNT) is vital for the immediate future and the forthcoming transfer window.
The combined league record since 1st March for both clubs is - P20 W2 D5 L13 F19 A37.
Club captain Bruno Fernandes, now 30, has been instrumental to United's success in this competition. He is level top scorer with seven goals, along with Bodo/Glimt's Kasper Hogh and El Kaabi of Olympiakos. Fernandes scored a hat-trick in the Round of 16 against Real Sociedad, and a vital penalty in the amazing extra-time quarter-final win over Lyon. In that tie, the first leg was drawn and at Old Trafford, United let slip a two-goal lead to enter extra-time. They then fell two goals behind before Fernandes 114(p), Mainoo (120) and Harry Maguire (120+1) secured an incredible come-back.
United are familiar with the stadium, having beaten Bilbao 3-0 here and 4-1 at home. Fernandes scored two of the away goals.
Both clubs have proud domestic and European history. Spurs were the first British club to win a European trophy in 1963 (Cup-Winners' Cup). United famously became the first English team to win the European Cup (at Wembley) in 1968 (Celtic had won the competition in 1967). Spurs have won three European trophies to United's five (plus a Super Cup and World Club Cup).
Spurs met United in the second round of the 1963-64 European Cup-Winners' Cup. Spurs were holders. United had beaten Leicester in the 1963 FA Cup Final. The first leg was played at White Hart Lane when we won 2-0 with goals by Dave Mackay and Terry Dyson (now at 91 the oldest living ex-Spurs player). Jimmy Greaves scored at Old Trafford but we fell to two goals by both David Herd and Bobby Charlton. The managers were the legendary Busby and Nicholson. Dave Mackay suffered a broken leg when challenged by Noel Cantwell after only 8 minutes of that game. Those were the days before substitutes.
Spurs' three wins over United this season were the 3-0 at Old Trafford in September, a 4-3 League Cup quarter-final win in December, and the 1-0 at home in February. Dominic Solanke scored in the first two games and Son scored what turned out to be the decisive goal in the league cup win.
Our two league wins came on the only two occasions this season when we have managed two or more consecutive league wins. The September win was part of our best sequence of the season when we won five successive games in all competitions. The league win in February was one of only four in this calendar year, and apart from the 4-1 at Ipswich, was our last significant league win, as we've only beaten Southampton since.
Spurs have not been beaten by United in six matches, their last defeat coming in October 2022.
Spurs have used 30 players in this 14-match campaign (including playing substitutes). Lucas Bergvall, Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson, Pedro Porro and Rodrigo Bentancur have made most appearances (12), closely followed by James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Sarr (11). Archie Gray started 9 games and made one appearance as substitute. In the absence of Romero and Van de Ven, Archie was a stalwart at centre-back.
Some of the players who have been involved but cannot play tomorrow such as Fraser Forster (ineligible), Bergvall and Maddison (injured) have travelled. Dominic Solanke (5) and Brennan Johnson (4) have been our top scorers, closely followed by Son and Maddison (3 each). Five of our youngest players have been involved and three of them (Scarlett, Ajayi and Moore) scored in the same game against Elfsborg.
Our big problem tomorrow will be the lack of a playmaker. Our first choice back five and three of our four top scorers are available. Son looked sharp last week against Villa, so we might see a team reading:- Vicario; Pedro Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Odobert, Bentancur, Sarr; Johnson, Solanke, Son. Maybe Ange has a surprise up his sleeve.
United have used 26 of their current Europa League squad in the competition. Leading appearance makers have been Hojlund and Garnacho (14), Fernandes and Mazraoui (13), Onana, Dalot and Casemiro (12). Ugarte and Diallo have made 10 appearances. Fernandes (7) and Hojlund (6) are United's top scorers. Lisandro Martinez is out for the season and Ruben Amorim has injury doubts regarding de Ligt. However, Dalot, Zirkzee and Yoro have been involved in training today (Tuesday).
I think we should see a few goals tomorrow. I just hope all Spurs connections are smiling tomorrow night. Of course, I am also hoping for a win!
COME ON YOU SPURS!
Felix Zwayer's appointment to have charge of this game made the news because he once served a ban (in 2006) for alleged involvement in a match-fixing plot. However it emerged that Herr Zwayer was one of the officials to notify the authorities of the offending, and thus received a short ban. Since the ban was imposed, Zwayer has become one of Europe's leading referees and officiated in Arsenal's Champions League semi-final second leg defeat by Paris St-Germain. He previously refereed Spurs in February 2016 and October 2018.
