With the Europa League final on Wednesday, Manchester United and Tottenham both had special circumstances, which saw both play on Friday.
The move was designed to allow both clubs to play a strong team in the league, without jeopardizing the Europa League final.
Both Manchester United and Spurs were defeated on Friday, with neither having the motivation in the Premier League to do much else, sitting 16th and 17th in the league respectively.
With just five days between Friday and the final over in Bilbao, Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim went with drastically different strategies in their team selection.
Postecoglou heavily rotated his Spurs side for the second week running, while Amorim went full strength as he said he would, favouring sharpness over extended rest for the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
This saw United avoid any new injury concerns despite a few heart-in-mouth moments when Amad Diallo stayed down after a tackle. But Spurs were not so lucky.
Photo by Pat Elmont - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Pat Elmont – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Pape Matar Sarr picks up an injury days before Europa League final
Spurs won’t have minded their 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on Friday night, but what Postecoglou will have minded is that the loss also saw an injury blow added to his problems.
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It was midfielder Pape Matar Sarr who departed the field for Tottenham just seven minutes into the second half, heading straight down the tunnel, as The Athletic’s Spurs journalist Jay Harris spotted.
This would be a big blow for Spurs to lose another player in advance of the final, and speaking after the game, as quoted by Football London, Postecoglou admitted the withdrawal is more of a precaution, but was not certain.
“Pape felt something in his back, so we took him off as a bit of a precaution. I don’t think it’s anything too significant, speaking to him afterwards, but he just felt something in his back”.
To feel something not through contact is never good, however, Sarr is also not a starter for Spurs so it shouldn’t impact them too much in that regard, more so in the strength of the squad they will take to Bilbao, with a handful of injuries already suffered.
Tottenham injury news ahead of facing Manchester United in Europa League final
Sarr’s injury scare could mean United are left with an injury list that is substantial for the final.
Already, James Maddison’s season is over for Tottenham, and he will miss the cup final at San Mames on Wednesday. This is a massive blow for Postecoglou, considering Maddison was the game winner when Spurs beat United in February.
Things, however, got worse for Tottenham, with Dejan Kulusevski seeing his season end ahead of the Europa League final due to injury. United will benefit from this as well, with the Swede among Spurs’ best players.
In addition, Spurs will also be missing Lucas Bergvall, who has been so impressive this season despite his age.
In terms of injuries, United have the advantage, but will this have an impact on the game?