Manchester United and Tottenham come into the Europa League final with poor defensive records and Teddy Sheringham thinks that will spell plenty of goals at both ends
Teddy Sheringham is expecting it to rain goals in Bilbao because he has no faith in the defences of Manchester United or Tottenham. The under-performing Premier League sides meet in the Europa League final on Wednesday night for a showdown with huge stakes.
With United 16th in the Premier League and on an eight-game winless run domestically and Spurs 17th and without a win in six in the league, it is a final of two out-of-form teams. But while they have disappointed in the league, both have made it to the final of Europe’s second-tier competition and are eyeing silverware.
The fact the winner will earn a place in next season’s Champions League has heightened the tension, while Tottenham have the added pressure of going for a first trophy since 2008. Picking a winner from two teams who have lacked consistency and confidence all season is difficult and Sheringham is only sure of one thing.
“I could see there being a lot of goals in the game, because neither team can defend, and neither of them want to play defensively. I see a very high-scoring, open game. I’m going to predict a 4-3 win, but I don’t know which team will edge it,” the former United and Spurs striker told Prime Casino.
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“I think either way, it’s going to be goals galore and it will be end-to-end stuff. If I was looking at this from Man United’s point of view, then I would be looking at the weaknesses in the Tottenham defence, but as I said, United’s back four is hardly a tight ship.
“Whoever can be more solid at the back will have an advantage and it might come down to which team makes fewer mistakes, because both sides have got a rick in them.
“If it goes to penalties. I think the pressure will be massively on Manchester United. A shootout could really affect them mentally, with all the implications of the result.”
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Pressure will be one of the key factors, with both managers feeling the heat at the end of largely miserable campaigns. Ruben Amorim has underwhelmed since taking the reins from Erik ten Hag in November, while Ange Postecoglou has become increasingly embattled in recent months.
The Spurs boss made headlines in the build-up by taking issue with a reporter’s characterisation of him as a ‘clown’. “I’ll tell you one thing, irrespective of tomorrow, I’m not a clown and never will be,” he said in his press conference.
“You really disappointed me that you used such terminology to describe a person that for 26 years, without any favours from anyone, has worked his way to a position where he is leading out a club in a European final. For you to suggest that somehow us not being successful means that I’m a clown, I’m not sure how to answer that question.”
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