Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have both reached the Europa League final after they won their respective semi-final ties on Thursday night.
Manchester United easily finished the job against Athletic Bilbao at Old Trafford, while Tottenham expertly navigated a tricky second-leg tie on Bodo/Glimt’s plastic pitch.
There have been a fair few all-English finals in European competition and the latest one will see the two Premier League sides lock horns in Bilbao later this month.
Owen Hargreaves has now predicted who out of the Red Devils and Spurs he feels has a better chance of triumphing in the final.
Owen Hargreaves backs Manchester United to win Europa League final against Tottenham
Hargreaves, discussing the game on TNT Sports at full time, spoke of the “fascinating” narrative about both teams in the final.
Man United and Tottenham are two of the biggest clubs in England, but both have struggled in the Premier League.
However, Hargreaves appeared to agree with Paul Scholes in that he suggested the Red Devils were likeliest to triumph in the final.
“It’s going to be fascinating,” said Hargreaves.
“For Ange, a European trophy: Champions League football. So much at stake for everyone,” he said.
“But if United can win a trophy in a down season, it tells you what this club is all about.
“Momentum is with United, with the energy around the club at the moment.”
How many all-English European finals have there been?
The first all-English final in European competition was back in 1972, in which Tottenham beat Wolves 3-2 on aggregate in what was then known as the UEFA Cup.
Meanwhile, the first all-English Champions League final came in 2008, when Man United beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow.
The 2018/19 campaign saw both the Champions League and Europa League finals contested by English clubs.
Liverpool beat Tottenham in the former in Madrid, while Chelsea overcame Arsenal in the latter in Baku.
The latest all-English final was in 2021, and on that occasion, Chelsea edged Manchester City 1-0 in Porto.
In total, there have been five all-English finals in the top two levels of European club competition.
