United or Spurs will qualify for next season’s Champions League despite poor form on the domestic front.
Ruben Amorim (left) and Ange Postecoglou’s teams have one chance to salvage their dismal seasons (Martin Rickett/Mike Egerton/PA)open image in gallery
Ruben Amorim (left) and Ange Postecoglou’s teams have one chance to salvage their dismal seasons (Martin Rickett/Mike Egerton/PA)
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Manchester United and Tottenham go into Wednesday’s Europa League final occupying the two places immediately above the Premier League relegation zone.
One of the pair will qualify for next season’s Champions League but here, the PA news agency looks at their terrible league campaigns and the unwanted club records they have set.
Manchester United
– United’s eighth-placed finish last season was their worst of the Premier League era but they currently lie 16th and the highest they can finish this season is 14th, if they win their final game and both Wolves and West Ham fail to win.
– They will also finish with their fewest wins and points – a maximum of 11 and 42 respectively if they beat Aston Villa, compared to their previous record lows of 16 wins and 58 points in 2021-22.
– Their 18 defeats are their most of the Premier League era, already four more than last season’s previous worst, while their current eight-match winless league run beats a record of seven set back in 1992.
– They will finish with their lowest Premier League goal tally, barring an improbable seven against Villa to equal their 49 in 2015-16. Only twice have they conceded more than this season’s 54, with 57 in 2021-22 and a record 58 last season.
– Unless Bruno Fernandes scores two goals or Amad Diallo three against Villa, this will be the first Premier League season with no United player reaching double figures.
– United sacked manager Erik ten Hag in October, just four months after extending his contract. Replacement Ruben Amorim has lost as many games as he has won in all competitions, 15, with his 37.5 per cent win rate the worst of any Red Devils manager since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure.
Tottenham
– Spurs are not yet guaranteed their lowest Premier League position, having finished 15th in 1993-94 and 14th on two other occasions. Lying 17th, though, they must beat Brighton and hope United, Wolves and West Ham do not all win.
– They have won just 11 games, with one final chance to avoid matching their lowest total. Their 21 defeats are already two more than in any other season in the Premier League era.
– They too will finish with fewer points than ever before, with 38 currently and a maximum of 41. Their previous low was 44 in 1997-98, with 45 in a 42-game season in 1993-94.
– They have conceded 61 goals, only the sixth time they have topped 60 in a Premier League season. Similarly to United, they will not match their worst defensive record unless they let in five on Sunday – but just two would equal their second-worst tally, 63 in 2022-23.
– Having scored 63, they could become the first team ever to finish as low as 17th in the Premier League with a positive goal difference. Manchester City were 16th in 2003-04 with a goal difference of plus-one.
– Manager Ange Postecoglou said in September that “I always win things in my second year. Nothing’s changed”. Wednesday provides a final opportunity to maintain that record, built with South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, Yokohama F. Marinos, Celtic and Australia’s under-17, under-20 and senior sides.