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Football pundit Martin Keown has predicted that Manchester United will lose their upcoming UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday, May 21, to Tottenham Hotspur. The ex-Arsenal defender also mentioned that Bruno Fernandes may be the reason why the Red Devils will lose the match.
According to Keown (via Mirror), Fernandes will not 'turn up' in the upcoming game against Spurs, even though he has a lot of experience playing in cup finals. He has notably led Manchester United to victories in the FA Cup and EFL Cup finals in the past, and yet Keown feels that the Portuguese will not do well in this game.
"I think Spurs will win it, I honestly do. I know it could be a long night, maybe Manchester United will look for extra-time and penalties, but I feel like Spurs can win this. I don’t think he (Bruno Fernandes) will turn up on the night. I actually think Dominic Solanke might be the standout player. £65 million will be like a snip if they win it," said Keown.
To be played at the San Mames Barria in Bilbao, Spain, the Europa League final will see two teams from the Premier League, ensuring another Champions League berth for England next season. United, coincidentally, played Athletic Bilbao at the same venue in the semifinals and beat them 3-0.
United defeated Bilbao by a 7-1 scoreline across both legs of the semifinals to book their berth in the marquee clash. Keown's statements seem surprising, especially as Fernandes scored two goals and bagged an assist across the two legs of the semifinal and seems to be in fine form. He has scored 19 times and assisted on 17 occasions across all competitions so far this term.
Manchester United have won the Europa League once
Both Manchester United and Tottenham come into the big final on the back of disappointing losses in the Premier League. While United were beaten 0-1 by Chelsea away from home on Friday, May 16, Spurs suffered a 0-2 loss to Aston Villa on Sunday.
United head coach Ruben Amorim chose to play his first-choice XI in the fixture against Chelsea, which will mean a lesser recovery for his players for Wednesday. Spurs, however, rotated their first-team squad in light of the upcoming final.
United have won the title only once in the past, under former manager Jose Mourinho in 2016-17. However, they have fresh memories of losing the 2020-21 final to Spanish club Villarreal, which they will aim to erase against Spurs.
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Mohul Bhowmick
Mohul is a senior football, cricket and Olympic Sports writer at Sportskeeda, and has been in the organisation for more than 6 years. Some of his best work includes 118 exclusive interviews with famous sports personalities, insider talk and transfer speculations. He has also covered the entirety of the 2023-24 ISL season, Kalinga Super Cup and 2023-24 Pro Kabaddi League from the ground.
An MBA degree holder in Finance, Mohul is also a professional cricketer and is currently in the reserves for Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy team. He’s also played league football in Hyderabad.
His football interest sparked after watching countless Rahim League matches at the Gymkhana and supporting the State Bank of Hyderabad. He grew up hearing stories about the legendary Syed Abdul Rahim and his incredible football team of the 1960s, which had a big influence on him. He has admired Manchester United’s dominance in English and European football as well.
Tennis star Leander Paes, Olympic gold-medalist Abhinav Bindra, cricketing legend Rahul Dravid and football star Chinglensana Singh are Mohul’s favorite athletes. He is a staunch Hyderabad FC supporter, and Sahil Tavora’s 88th-minute equalizer in the 2021-22 ISL Cup final against Kerala Blasters is one of his favorite footballing moments. Abhinav Bindra’s gold medal in shooting at the 2008 Olympics also had a huge impact on Mohul.
In his work, he strives to write relevant, accurate and unbiased stories by conducting thorough research. When not working, Mohul enjoys reading books and listening to heavy metal and rock music.
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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava