The Europa League final is already in the air. Manchester United and Tottenham arrive in Bilbao with more doubts than certainties, but with the real possibility of salvaging a poor season with a European title. Neither of them has shone in the Premier League. Both have stumbled more times than they have celebrated. United lost 1-0 to Chelsea before the trip to Spain, while Spurs were beaten by Aston Villa. Despite these stumbles, Wednesday marks a turning point. It will be one game, one title. All of the above ceases to matter when there is a cup at stake. Bilbao becomes the stage for two teams with urgency, a thirst for redemption and the pressure on.
Roy Keane, an ex-footballer who needs no introduction, gave his opinion on who has the better chance in this final. According to him, recent history weighs heavily. According to The Standard, he believes that the knowledge United have gained in recent finals can make the difference. Keane doesn’t so much look at the present as the memory, and trusts that certain players can change a game with one action. For Keane, that previous experience is more than a statistic; it is a real advantage.
Roy Keane backs Manchester United to come out on top ion Bilbao
He believes that the emotional weight of previous wins can influence a player’s head at the limit. And while the league table shows them evenly matched, the Irishman’s emotional analysis gives United the edge over the Londoners. He doesn’t go into complicated formulas or get lost in tactics. Keane looks at character, at history, at the key moment when the pressure is on and mistakes cost more than ever.
Roy Keane backs Manchester United to beat Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final.
Roy Keane offers his verdict on Manchester United vs Tottenham ahead of the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 final clash.
“Come the crunch, come the final, United’s history in finals, them winning cups the last few years. You still have to fancy United, someone like Bruno can produce, the history of Manchester United still carries a little bit of weight. There’s not much between them [in the league] but come the crunch, come the final, United’s history in finals, them winning cups the last few years, you’d like to think they would have a bit more knowledge around the game than Spurs. That might edge it for them, and I think Bruno can produce that bit of magic.”
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Keane may believe Manchester United’s recent finals experience gives them the edge against Tottenham, but history doesn’t score goals. Spurs may have gone decades without European silverware, but they have players like Son Heung-min and Cristian Romero — men capable of turning a game on its head in an instant. Talent isn’t the issue for Spurs; execution is. And in a final where tactics could trump history, individual mistakes could become the defining factor.
The real key to this clash lies in how United approach the game from the first whistle. If they sit back and invite pressure, they could be setting themselves up for failure. This team has struggled when ceding possession and waiting for the counter. For United to assert control, they must press high, disrupt Tottenham’s build-up, and position Bruno Fernandes closer to the box. If Fernandes can find pockets of space to operate, United’s chances increase exponentially.