Manchester United legend Gary Neville has tipped his former club to triumph over Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final, though he confessed to feeling a sense of unease about the clash.
United secured their place in the final with a dominant 7-1 aggregate win over Athletic Club in the semi-finals, while Tottenham cruised past Bodo/Glimt to set up a mouth-watering showdown in Bilbao later this month.
Both sides have struggled in the Premier League this season, with United currently languishing in 15th place and Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham just a point behind in 16th.
Winning the Europa League would not only secure one of the finalists a European trophy, but it would also guarantee them a place in the Champions League.
Neville spoke to BBC Sport and predicted a victory for the Red Devils.
“Roy Keane called it a great game the other day. That is what Roy would think. My mentality is different. I was a right-back. You know the only thing you can do is lose your team the game.”
“Unless you are Trent Alexander-Arnold, you are unlikely to win your team a game as a right-back. It is a huge game. The consequences are massive.”
“I have a sickly feeling in my stomach about this game as a United fan purely because of what is at stake. But I am confident.”
Neville continued, “Manchester United have an uncanny knack, even in difficult times and bad times – and this has been a really bad season – of picking up trophies. That is not a bad habit to have as a football club.”
“They still get to finals and do things even though the league form has been awful – and it has been a terrible season.”
United are back in action on Sunday when they welcome West Ham to Old Trafford.
Kick-off is at 14:15 BST.
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
