Tottenham will edge past Manchester United in a penalty shootout to win the Europa League final.
The two struggling Premier League sides will face off in Bilbao on Wednesday, with both a major trophy and a Champions League spot at stake.
Spurs enter the contest sitting 17th in the league, having failed to secure a domestic victory since early April.
Despite enduring a tough Premier League campaign, Ange Postecoglou’s squad has found success in Europe, overcoming AZ Alkmaar, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Bodo-Glimt to book their place in the final on May 21.
Manchester United’s journey has mirrored Tottenham’s, with the club last tasting victory in the league in mid-March.
Although domestic struggles have plagued United, Ruben Amorim’s team has still managed to reach another major final by defeating Real Sociedad, Lyon, and Athletic Bilbao on their path to the showdown.
Revealing his prediction for the Europa League final, ex-England striker Alan Shearer said on The Rest is Football podcast: ‘Who would you say are favourites? Tottenham because of their record against Man United this season?
‘They have both been rotten in the Premier League yet one of them is going to be playing Champions League football next season.
‘My prediction is 2-2 or 3-3 after extra-time and Tottenham to win on penalties.’
As Shearer mentioned, Tottenham have already beaten United three times this campaign and Gary Lineker believes it will be number four on Wednesday.
‘Talk about a huge game for both clubs,’ the outgoing Match of the Day presenter said.
‘The winner gets Champions League and a trophy and the loser gets nothing.
‘Man United seem to win trophies even when they’re not very good. They’ve done that over the last few years, whether they can sustain it I don’t know.
‘I think it’s really tight, it could be anything, but I’m going to go for Spurs. We’ve seen a lot of teams that haven’t won for ages win stuff this season so maybe that will work on their favour. But it could easily go to extra-time.’
In better news for United, Micah Richards believes it will be the men in red lifting the Europa League trophy and has backed Bruno Fernandes to ‘make the difference’.
‘I think in the Europa league, Bruno has been exceptional,’ he said. ‘I think it could come down to a big moment where he steps up so I’m going for United, just.
‘Bruno this season, amongst all the nonsense and bad performances, really has stepped up and I think he’s the man to make the difference on the final. I’m going for a 1-0 United win.’
