Tottenham vs Manchester United live updates: Europa League final latest plus early team news, predictions

I’ve seen this game billed as one that will define both of these teams’ fortunes for the next few years. Clearly there’s a lot at stake but I remember similarly apocalyptic things being said about the last time Spurs had what was effectively a Champions League playoff — against Arsenal in 2022 (I know tonight is not about that for Spurs fans, but it is what people are talking about when they refer to how much is at stake in a wider sense).

On that occasion, Spurs won the game and the Champions League prize and it did absolutely nothing for their fortunes, while the team they defeated, who had supposedly been subjected to Europa purgatory for evermore, then had their best season in years.

Maybe this is just a way of trying to ease some nerves ahead of tonight, but I think it’s perfectly possible one of these teams loses tonight and has a good season next year, and vice versa.

That said, what really matters for Spurs fans tonight is winning a trophy, not the wider context. And sorry there’s no way of soothing any nerves there — it promises to be an excruciatingly tense game.