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No one could argue with me that both teams have had their worst season in the Premier League since the competition began.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim faces the biggest game of his career against Tottenham Hotspur next week. — AFP Photo|
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Paul Kennedy
Apart from the three sides already relegated, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are the worst two teams in the Premier League.
Don’t believe me? Look at the table.
Last Sunday both lost at home by two goals to nil, United beaten against West Ham and Spurs put to the sword by Crystal Palace.
Add up their total combined points this season and it comes to 77, six points behind champions Liverpool.
No one could argue with me that both teams have had their worst season in the Premier League since the competition began.
Yet one of them could still finish the season on a massive high, and qualify for the Champions League, the greatest and most lucrative competition in the whole of Europe.
Seems crazy, right?
United and Spurs meet each other in the final of the Europa League on Thursday, May 22.
Now to the untrained eye this must look like a relegation battle between the two worst teams in the Premier League.
But in reality, it’s a match that could change the entire fortune of whoever wins.
Victory means automatic entry to the Champions League next season, and the cash that comes with it.
Plus, in terms of recruitment, any player thinking about a move to the team that wins would obviously take into consideration the fact that next season, they’ll be playing against Europe’s elite.
A loss on the other hand would not only condemn that team to their worst ever season in living memory, but could also mean an axe swinging to chop the manager, Spurs probably more so.
But is it fair?
The team in sixth in the Premier League, which at the moment is Aston Villa, could find themselves playing in the Europa League next season while the team currently 25 points behind them will be kicking it with the big boys in the Champions League.
I guess that’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
Spurs and United have played three times already this season, twice in the Premier League and once in the League Cup, with the team from North London winning each match.
But despite previous results, I’d have to say United are favourites to win when they meet next week at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, Spain. — VNS