Tottenham and Manchester United have set up a date with destiny as they prepare to face off in the Europa League final in Bilbao.
Despite both having terrible domestic campaigns, Manchester United and Spurs are now just one game away from qualifying for next season’s Champions League and winning some silverware in the process.
Tottenham could save their season with a win here, while United are in the same boat too.
In turn, United and Spurs could both be about to make a little bit of history.
Indeed, there’s a record here to be broken as United and Tottenham are both on course to break a record that was set by Inter Milan back in 1994.
- READ MORE: James Maddison sends three word message to Pedro Porro as Tottenham reach the Europa League final
Manchester United and Tottenham could set European record
Manchester United and Tottenham are one game away from winning the Europa League, and regardless of which team prevails, a record could be broken here.
Indeed, United or Spurs could become the lowest-ranked team domestically to ever win a European trophy.
Back in 1994, Inter Milan won the UEFA Cup, finishing 13th in Serie A in the same season.
That is the lowest-place any team to win a European trophy has ever finished.
Lowest ranked teams to win European trophy | Trophy won | League position | Year |
Inter Milan | UEFA Cup | 13th | 1994 |
Schalke | UEFA Cup | 12th | 1997 |
Aston Villa | European Cup | 11th | 1982 |
Bayern Munich | European Cup | 10th | 1975 |
Manchester City | Cup Winners’ Cup | 10th | 1970 |
However, with Spurs and United currently sitting 15th and 16th in the Premier League respectively, Inter’s long-standing record may well be broken.
Tottenham and United’s fixtures analysed
Of course, the Premier League season isn’t over yet and Spurs or United could still climb above Inter’s infamous 13th-placed finish in 1994.
However, given the current state of the league table, that does look unlikely.
Position | Team | Played MP |
Won W |
Drawn D |
Lost L |
For GF |
Against GA |
Diff GD |
Points Pts |
12 | 35 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 44 | 48 | -4 | 46 | |
13 | 35 | 12 | 5 | 18 | 51 | 62 | -11 | 41 | |
14 | 35 | 8 | 15 | 12 | 36 | 43 | -7 | 39 | |
15 | 35 | 10 | 9 | 16 | 42 | 51 | -9 | 39 | |
16 | 35 | 11 | 5 | 19 | 63 | 57 | 6 | 38 | |
17 | 35 | 9 | 10 | 16 | 40 | 59 | -19 | 37 |
Wolves are in fine form at the moment, so they could pull even further clear of United or Spurs, while Crystal Palace have been solid recently too and will likely become unreachable for either United or Spurs.
As for Tottenham and United’s league fixtures, they’re not easy.
-
Sunday
11th
May -
Friday
16th
May -
Sunday
25th
May
Spurs still have to play Aston Villa and Brighton who are very much in the hunt for Europe right now, meanwhile United have an even tougher run-in as they face Aston Villa and Chelsea.
-
Sunday
11th
May -
Friday
16th
May -
Sunday
25th
May
It’s fair to suggest that United and Spurs will both finish below 13th in the Premier League this season, and, therefore, one of these two teams is likely to break Inter Milan’s record of being the lowest-placed side to ever win a European trophy.