An all-English final awaits in the Europa League as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are set to face off for the fourth time this season.
Tottenham have won all three games they’ve played against Man Utd in 2024-25, mostly in dominant fashion. The 4-3 thriller in the Carabao Cup was only that close due to Fraser Forster’s howlers with the ball at his feet. And the 3-0 away win was already heavily favoured towards Spurs even when the Red Devils still had 11 men and the scoreline was just 1-0.
That leaves the last encounter, three months ago, as the only true even affair between the clubs — and perhaps the most reliable in order to try and extract information to preview the Europa League Final. Here are two key factors that could tip the scales one way or the other.
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Man Utd’s long passes
Ruben Amorim’s side rely heavily on long-distance passing, not always prioritising the maintenance of possession. They rank first in long balls attempted among all Premier League teams in all competitions this season (2,853). Long balls are useful for a number of things, whether that’s to break the opposing line and get forwards through on goal, or just as a “shortcut” to reach the attacking half of the pitch.
The Red Devils actually generated a lot of danger early in their last game against Tottenham, finding Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho in space several times. That could be a useful weapon, considering the talent and range from Bruno Fernandes and how well their centre-backs have distributed the ball this campaign – especially against Lyon in the quarter-finals.
If Ange Postecoglou plays his usual style with a high defensive line, Tottenham will be susceptible to facing runs in behind from Man Utd players — and that would match Amorim’s style of play. However, the Australian manager has toned this down lately, even at home, sitting deeper and offering possession to the opposition.
That has led to surprisingly safe games from Tottenham in this recent Europa League stretch, suffering little against Bodo/Glimt and Eintracht Frankfurt. In fact, Tottenham allowed just 28 shots in four legs against their quarter-final and semi-finals opponent combined (seven per game) — nearly half of their season average of shots faced (13.7).
In addition, Tottenham’s two lowest Expected Goals Conceded tallies in a game this season came precisely against Bodo/Glimt (0.26 xGC) and Eintracht Frankfurt (0.36 xGC), both in the first legs. Maybe there is something to this new version of Angeball.
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Tottenham’s crosses
This might be more related to Man Utd’s inability to defend crosses than Tottenham’s ability to hit them. Tottenham do have more attempts in open play (766) than any other PL side in all competitions in 2024-25, but also the second-lowest completion rate in general (22%).
Ruben Amorim’s men had an absolute nightmare trying to defend crosses against Lyon and that is the only thing that allowed the French side back in the game time and time again. But at this point it’s a well-known issue of theirs.
In the last head-to-head matchup, Spurs managed to find Man Utd defending in an excessively narrow manner, leaving wingers and overlapping fullbacks a lot of space to receive the ball, look to the box and get a cross in.
Tottenham also fill the box really well, spreading players around and having options at different spots to complete short or long, high or low crosses — as well as following up on the play if the cross itself doesn’t immediately result in a shot attempt.
In addition, it will likely be an even more important resource for Ange Postecoglou with the absences of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, two of Tottenham’s most creative players. Not to mention the fact that Son Heung-min has only recently returned to action following a month away due to injury.
Health has been an issue for both teams for quite some time and will certainly impact the upcoming Europa League final – as it has in the Premier League. So don’t let the table and the recent losses for both sides fool you: this has everything to be an absolute epic showdown to see who will ultimately save their season and play in the Champions League next year.