Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United will go head-to-head in the Europa League final later this month with more than just the prestigious trophy on the line.
Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs beat Bodo-Glimt 5-1 on aggregate while Ruben Amorim’s United eased past Athletic Club with a 7-1 victory across the two legs.
That has teed up a meeting between the two Premier League clubs, with the winners not just getting to celebrate with the cup, but earning themselves a Champions League place for next season to take England’s complement of clubs to six.
When is the Europa League final?
The Europa League final is set to be held on Wednesday, May 21 in a 8pm BST kick-off (9pm CEST).
The game therefore falls in between the last two games of the Premier League season for both sides.
Manchester United were already set to visit Chelsea the Friday before the game, prompting Tottenham to ask for their trip to Aston Villa to be moved to match – a request the Premier League granted.
Spurs will then host Brighton on the final day – the Sunday after the final – while Man United are at home to Villa.
Where is the Europa League final?
Bilbao’s San Mames – home to Athletic Club – will host the final.
The much-admired stadium in the Basque Country was awarded the final in interesting circumstances: it was originally slated as one of the grounds to be used at Euro 2020, only to be replaced by Seville’s Estadio de La Cartuja for covid-related reasons.
As a consolation, it was announced that San Mames would host both the 2024 Women’s Champions League final and this year’s Europa League final.
Why can’t the Europa League final just be moved to England?
The host stadium for each of UEFA’s competitions is decided years in advance following a year-long bidding process and does not change bar some unforeseen catastrophe – regardless which sides make it to the final.
In this instance, Bilbao was awarded the final in 2021 after the Euro 2020 withdrawal.
It was announced in 2024 that next year’s Europa League final will be held at Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul and the 2027 Europa League final will be hosted by Frankfurt’s Waldstadion.
