FootyChatter.com

By NATHAN SALT IN BILBAO and MATT BARLOW IN BILBAO and KIM MORRISSEY Published: 21: 00 AEST, 20 May 2025 | Updated: 22: 35 AEST, 20 May 2025 1 View comments Re-live Mail Sport's live blog as our experts answered all of your burning questions ahead of the 2025 Europa League final between Tottenham and Manchester United.   By Kim Morrissey Thank you for tuning into Mail Sport's Europa League final Q&A live blog. We hope we answered all your questions regarding Wednesday's crunch European clash between the two English sides. Make sure to come back tomorrow as we will be providing the latest score, team news and updates from the San Mames stadium in Bilbao for the thrilling final. But before that happens, why not take a look at who the Supercomputer has predicted to take home the trophy tomorrow. .. I am not expecting a thriller but I do just believe that finals often fall on the shoulders of the best players and United will have the two best on the pitch in Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo. I’m also not going to downplay the amount of final experience in United’s ranks to drag them over the line. Casemiro has played in 19 career senior finals and won them all. That counts for something in games between sides as poor as these two are. Verdict: Narrow United win for me. I’m backing Spurs with not a lot of confidence, on the basis of the three wins against Manchester United this season and the vital Romero and Van de Ven axis in central defence. Those two have started together in the last five Europa League ties and Postecoglou’s team have won four and drawn one. Tottenham are a different proposition when they both play, and they have barely been together in the Premier League for weeks. Although still not perfect, of course. And they lack midfield creativity without Maddison, Bergvall or Kulusevski so I don’t expect full throttle Ange Ball. Maybe something of a hybrid tactical model with less risk in midfield and quick counterattacking… Spurs 3 Man United 1 Verdict: Tottenham win @Pisazburg asks - Any chances Man Utd play Mainoo/Mount at false 9? There’s always a chance he could mix things up but I just don’t see it. He said after the loss at Chelsea that he knows his team and I actually have a feeling Mason Mount may well have played his way out of the starting XI in favour of Alejandro Garnacho after a really quiet night at Stamford Bridge. For as bad as Rasmus Hojlund has been I would be surprised if he was dropped for the final. What approach do you think is better? United playing players, or Spurs resting players? I think there is a real danger by resting players that they are ice cold when it comes to the final and that’s the gamble Tottenham have taken. Amorim took the alternative approach and bar a couple of injury scares I do think that will pay off for him in a final between two very poor teams. Every small margin will count. 433: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Bissouma, Sarr; Johnson, Solanke, Richarlison Whether he will start with Son is interesting call, especially with the echoes of Kane in 2019. Son has more football inside him than Kane did then… but my feeling is that they will look to use him from the bench Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Shaw; Dalot, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu; Amad, Garnacho; Hojlund I I don’t think Amorim will take a risk on the likes of Yoro and Zirkzee given their sooner-than-expected returns to fitness. But I can see him rolling the dice on one of his trusted lieutenants in Diogo Dalot. There’s the temptation to think he could go rogue in attack but Hojlund is second-highest scorer in this competition and even amid his dreadful form I’d be shocked. How does Ange solve his midfield conundrum? Played Odobert as a 10 on the weekend but is more likely to go for Bissouma/Sarr/Bentancur tomorrow The safe option is to start with Bissouma, Sarr, Bentancur and leave a little space for flexibility. I know Postecoglou’s style is all about risk but in recent Europa League ties he has been solid at the back and sought to break quickly. There hasn’t been a lot of risk involved, and it has been successful so I don’t see a reason to change. Lost creativity is a concern for Spurs and will leave a burden on Porro to get forward as he likes to do and deliver from the right. The Odobert experiment was probably more to do with giving a rest to the players he did not want to play at Villa Park or a glimpse at the options if Spurs need to make changes from the bench in search of goals in Bilbao. The further complication is Sarr’s fitness. He came off at Villa complaining of discomfort in his back and his form is certainly not as strong as it was at the start of the season. Hopefully, he’s ready to go and able to get through his usual workload. @PMettrick asks - Why are they settilng for Delap when clearly Gyokeres knows Amorim's system inside and out? Should United go ahead and win the Europa League, this might not be the either-or it has seemed for months now. Delap is United’s priority No 9 target due to his age profile, being homegrown, many figures such as Jason Wilcox knowing his character, and an overriding belief that at £30m his value will exponentially increase as he heads towards his prime in the coming years. Delap has so many attributes that Amorim loves and I genuinely think he’s under extra scrutiny because of how it’s panned out for Rasmus Højlund. He needs to be judged on his own merits. As for Gyokores, Arsenal looked the far and away frontrunners on that one but there is a difference opinion behind the scenes there with Mikel Arteta preferring Benjamin Sesko. Amorim loves Gyokores and a win in the Europa League may help him grease the wheels to convince his bosses to sanction it. United playing players, or Spurs resting players? Who knows, to be honest. We’ll find out. I think Spurs resting players was the best approach for Spurs. I know there’s a lot been made of the injuries and who is to blame but it is impossible to ignore the impact they have had. They are a completely different team with the first choice defensive unit in place and to have lost one of them, in particular Van de Ven, would have been a devastating blow to their chances and their confidence. In the Europa League with Van de Ven and Romero in tandem at the back they are unbeaten in five, winning four so I can see why they have opted to rest first-team regulars in the Premier League where they were safe from relegation despite the embarrassment of being 17th… The concern will be that they lack a little match sharpness, that they are short of zip but they will be well rested. @Paskins_tache asks - Is this a must-win for Amorim? Or could he expect to be binned if he fails? Unlike Ange Postecoglou, I don’t believe Amorim’s job rests on Wednesday night. He’s been at United for six months and they wrestled him out of a job mid-season at Sporting, who have just gone ahead and won the Portuguese league with the team he built. What is abundantly clear is that if United are to get the results Sporting did they simply have to back him in the transfer market this summer. That becomes infinitely easier should they win in Bilbao given the millions and millions you get for Champions League entry. Is there any chance a win keeps Ange in the job? Personally, I think the chances are slim. And I think the main issue there is the disconnection with the fans which has occurred in the second half of this season as much as the dreadful Premier League campaign. I think a win enables Ange to go with his head high, the first Spurs boss to win in Europe for 41 years and his proud record of winning a trophy in his second season still intact. That will give him some sense of status at the club. But I think the only way he stays is if victory is accompanied by an outpouring of love and devotion from the Spurs fans who used to sing his name but haven’t for a long time… @Afooty0 asks - Who's preferred Semenyo or Mbeumo? Both have admirers at Old Trafford but Bryan Mbeumo is the more likely of the two here. United will face stiff competition if they do decide to move for the Brentford man, plus it’s worth factoring in lingering interest in Lyon’s Rayan Cherki. For a while it seemed like one No 10 - top target Matheus Cunha - was the plan. But the more and more days pass by it is not being shot down internally that they could go for both. Semenyo is liked but that’s viewed as a particularly expensive deal when everything is thrown in. What are the chances of Bergvall playing? Postecoglou dismissed his chances emphatically last week and he might be playing tricks because he has before but I’d still be surprised if Bergvall is able to feature… He is out of the protective boot and was doing some light training on his own when I was last at the training ground. It is not quite a month since he damaged ankle ligaments in training. All the injured players have travelled to Bilbao and they will train in the San Mames this evening… What was your journey to Bilbao like? Tiring but all told, nowhere near as stressful as I feared. I took a late flight from Manchester to Madrid, landing at 00: 15, on Monday. Five hours later I was back awake for the five-hour high-speed train from Madrid to Bilbao and now I’m doing this Q&A from a bench outside the stadium. What was your journey to Bilbao like? Not as complicated as some I’ve been reading about… I left home at 5am yesterday from Heathrow to Paris to Biarritz in the midst of a storm, hired a car and drove for two hours to Bilbao… parked up last night at about 7pm to find them busy spoiling a beautiful city with all the usual garish UEFA trimmings Who needs the win more? Is it more do-or-die for one than the other? You can certainly make an argument for both and so in case Matt makes the case for Tottenham I will go for Manchester United. The future looks so much bleaker for the club and for Amorim if they don’t go ahead and win it. Every year they are out of the Champions League is so damaging and given the huge overhaul they require on this team, that’s a lot harder to do without being able to generate the funds to pay for it. Defeat wouldn’t cost Amorim his job but he may cost him his belief that this job can turn around. Who needs the win more? Is it more do-or-die for one than the other? I’d say Tottenham need the trophy more than Manchester United. And they need the trophy more than the ticket to the Champions League, although I’m sure Daniel Levy fancies the extra windfall. The most important thing for Spurs is to wash away the whiff of failure, to convince people they can win trophies and belong in English football’s elite. By Kim Morrissey Can YOU name the Tottenham team that beat Man United in 2012? Or pick YOUR team and guess their starting XI This is Mail Sport's original football memory game with a twist that gives you the chance to test your football knowledge against your mates. Today we are preparing for the Europa League final with a Teamsheet from 2012, when Tottenham got the better of their final opponents. It finished 3-2, ending Spurs' 23-year wait for a win at Old Trafford. And what Spurs fans would do for the same result at the end of the season. We want to know if you can name the side that Andre Villas-Boas picked that night - including a certain forward who scored his first goal for the club. By Kim Morrissey Tottenham have the opportunity to lift their first piece of silverware in 16 years. And thanks to the folks at Paddy Power, if Spurs manage to beat their Premier League rivals in Bilbao tomorrow night, they are well prepared to store the gigantic cabinet in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. So. .. What do you all think? Will Spurs be making use of the cabinet or will it be getting returned and possibly shipped to Old Trafford? By Kim Morrissey Why they're staying away as long as possible, how Ruben Amorim fine-tuned his squad and the players' massive jackpot if they win the Europa League final. Mail Sport's Nathan Salt provides all the intel. .. And make sure to stick around as he and Matt Barlow will be answering all your questions right here shortly. By Kim Morrissey Tens of thousands of Manchester United and Tottenham fans have set off on their journeys to Bilbao ahead of the Europa League final between the two English clubs. As many as 80, 000 United and Spurs supporters are expected in Bilbao for Wednesday night's final, with Spanish outlet El Correo suggesting locals are braced for the Brits to 'colonise' the Basque city. Getting to Bilbao has proved to be an extremely challenging task for fans amid soaring prices for flights, accommodation and matchday tickets. But that has not stopped some being willing to take obscure routes across the continent to see their team's bid for European glory. By Kim Morrissey Hello and welcome to Mail Sport's Q&A session ahead of the 2024-25 Europa League final between Tottenham and Manchester United. The English sides will meet in Bilbao in a little over 24 hours' time in a blockbuster all-Premier League European clash. As excitement builds, we have managed to get our in-house experts available to answer all your burning questions ahead of the game. Did anyone honestly have any burning questions for. ..

Share what you think

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mail Online.

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual.   Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on Mail Online. To do this we will link your Mail Online account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy. Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group