So does history come into it, like ex-Reds skipper Roy Keane has suggested? United, for all our failings at league level in 2024/25, are in a fourth final in the past three seasons. Last year, in another do-or-die encounter, against all the odds, Erik ten Hag’s men overcame Manchester City at Wembley in a glorious illustration of how this club can aways rise to the occasion.
Yet does that count for anything come 20:00 BST in the Basque Country? It is impossible to tell. What we also know is Ruben’s side have very recent knowledge of San Mames, its environment and, maybe even more than that, happy memories associated with the stadium, following the superb 3-0 away win against Athletic Club in the first leg of the semi-final.
Can this provide a psychological edge? Were the Basques clearly, on paper at least, more difficult opponents than a Spurs team that is, after all, still below United in the league table with one game remaining?
Yet the task, to many Reds travelling over land and sea to get to see the action, does seem particularly difficult, given the domestic form. Surely nobody will be approaching the final with complete confidence and the fear of missing out on a prized Champions League spot next term is one that fills us with dread.
It is an undeniably magnificent prize to go alongside the trophy itself. We’ve seen the omens coming into the game, how the last time we won this competition, a Portuguese manager had replaced a Dutchman who lifted the FA Cup in the previous campaign. Others have pointed out how this is the year for clubs to end their silverware droughts – consider Newcastle United and Crystal Palace as possible inspiration for Spurs.