Owen Hargreaves has given his Europa League predictions after Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the final.
Manchester United have qualified for the Europa League final for the first time since 2021. Their 4-1 victory at Old Trafford sees them beat Athletic Bilbao 7-1 on aggregate.
After going a goal down United managed to mount a comeback scoring four goals. Ruben Amorim’s substitutions were the catalyst for the turnaround with Mason Mount coming on and scoring twice and Amad coming on to provide an assist for Rasmus Hojlund.
On the other side of the Europa League draw, Tottenham Hotspur have qualified after beating Bodo/Glimt 5-1 on aggregate. This sets up the first all English final in the competition since Chelsea vs Arsenal in 2019.
With both United and Tottenham languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table, the Europa League serves as the only remaining chance for either side to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Hargreaves’ Europa League final predictions
Following United’s victory, Owen Hargreaves was asked to predict what will happen in the final and he suggests that the momentum is with the Reds heading to Bilbao.
The TNT Sports pundit believes that the ‘energy’ around the club at the moment is the one thing that gives them an upper-hand in this fixture.
“I’m sure we’re going to hype it up. We’ve got a lot of time to hype it up until then. I think it’s going to be fascinating, obviously, for Ang,” the ex-United midfielder said.
Ange Postecoglou has repeatedly reminded the media that he usually wins a trophy in his second season at a club and this final will put that theory to the test.
“A European trophy, Champions League football, Jules, there’s so much at stake for everyone,” Hargreaves continued.
“But I think if United, in a down season, can win a trophy and get to the Champions League, it just tells you what this club is all about. And I think right now, momentum is a little bit with Manchester United, just with the energy around the club at the moment.”
Who has the momentum heading to Bilbao?
Hargreaves suggested that momentum is currently in United’s favour and there does feel like there is truth to that. Three of United’s goals came from players recently back from injury in Mount and Amad. Luke Shaw is also back fit so there are now a number of options in the squad.
Tottenham have recently lost James Maddison for the rest of the season and he had been crucial for them in the Europa League with six goal involvement in 11 appearances. United had been struggling for goals but appear to have turned that around, scoring 17 in the last six matches.
The atmosphere at Spurs also appears darker than at United. Old Trafford was serenaded against Bilbao with songs about Ruben Amorim showing a positive mentality at the club. Whereas, at Tottenham, there are reports that Postecoglou will be sacked regardless of the result in the final.
Overall Hargreaves’ assessment seems accurate. There are a lot of reasons for United to feel positive ahead of the final and provided they don’t suffer any significant injuries in the two matches before then they’ll have a strong chance of winning.
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