Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester were relegated from the Premier League this season, and just above them in the table are two teams that will fight for the Europa League trophy and a ticket to the Champions League tonight in the heart of the Basque Country.
Tottenham and Manchester United, losers from England, but extremely good in the second-best UEFA competition, will start the battle for the European trophy at 21 pm - the final will be hosted by San Mames and Bilbao.
Whoever wins at the "cathedral" of Atleti will save the season and all the setbacks and failures will be forgotten, while for the loser, difficult days are just beginning...
Spurs and the trophy, finally?
Tottenham will find themselves in a major European final again after six years, again against rivals from their own country and again in Spain - now in north London they believe with a different outcome.
Spurs reached the Champions League final in 2019, but Liverpool were better in Madrid - that defeat only continued the club's curse when it comes to trophies, as the last one was won in the English League Cup in 2008, while in more than 40 years Tottenham has only reached the cup three times.
- It is known that when you sign for Tottenham you get the message that you will not win any trophies and that you will be without them for the rest of your career - he says Miki van de Ven, defender of the London club.
3
European trophies won by Tottenham - two in the Europa League (formerly the Uefa Cup) in 1972 and 1984 and one in the Cup Winners' Cup (1963)
His teammates, coach Ainge Postecoglou and now they want to change everything.
- When we arrived we said we wanted to change something at this club and our task now is to achieve that in Bilbao. It would be a really big thing. We know very well that we play for a big club and that Tottenham deserves trophies - added the Dutch footballer.
Postecoglou, the coach who could easily lose his job if Tottenham loses, had a message for the fans.
- We gave them real hope and something to dream about, which is that we can do something special this year.
Undefeated Devils - without the cup it means nothing
The tough years are behind United, the Premier League trophy has been awaited since Alex Ferguson, but there was success in other competitions, so the "devils" won the Europa League in 2017. This season was especially difficult and complicated, the reaction was expected with the arrival Rubena Amorima, but nothing came of it in the domestic championship.
However, Europe is something else, and United reached the final undefeated - the only team in all UEFA competitions.
- If we don't win in the final, it won't mean anything to us - Amorim was clear.
5
Manchester United has won three European trophies - three in the Champions League (1968, 1999 and 2008) and one each in the Europa League (2017) and the Cup Winners' Cup (1991).
For the Old Trafford giants, this will be their third Europa League final in the last eight years - in 2017 they won in a duel with Ajax, while in 2021 they were defeated by Villarreal. A new triumph would change a lot at the "Theater of Dreams".
- This has been a really tough season for everyone, the results, the changes in the coaching staff, you can feel it all. But we are working on it, we are changing the way we play. When we prepare for the Europa League matches, the atmosphere is a little different. That's when you can feel the excitement - the Portuguese expert pointed out.
77
points won by Tottenham (38) and United (39) together this season in the Premier League, which is less than the number of points collected by champions Liverpool (83)
Tottenham or Manchester United - a European Cup would make their season much better.
Possible lineups; Tottenham: Vicario - Pedro Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogi - Sarr, Bissuma, Bentancur - Johnson, Solanke, Richarlison.
Manchester United: Onana - Joro, De Ligt, Maguire - Mazraoui, Ugarte, Casemiro, Dorgu - Diallo, Fernandes, Hoylund.
The teams that brought England its first European trophies
They may be far from the European elite these years, but Tottenham and Manchester United are clubs that have written the history of English football outside the Island.
Thus, the club from North London became the first to bring a European trophy to England, having won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1963 by defeating Atletico Madrid.
Five years later, United became the first English club to win the Champions League (Cup) - with a triumph over Benfica. That same year, Leeds also reached the European trophy - in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, today's Europa League.
Bonus video:
