Gary Neville took a sledgehammer to Manchester United’s Europa League final hopes by admitting Tottenham are the pound-for-pound favourites.
The Old Trafford legend believes only one United star would be a definite starter in Ange Postecoglou’s side.
And Neville revealed that he is ‘really worried’ about the long-term consequences of losing next week’s final – so much so that he has a ‘sickly feeling’.
They are, by their league placements, the worst ever Europa League finalists. But seldom has a final in Europe’s second competition felt grander in terms of the heritage of its competitors.
‘I’ve genuinely got a sickly feeling about this game next Wednesday,’ Neville told The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet.
Gary Neville believes Tottenham are the pound-for-pound favourites for the Europa League
He says Bruno Fernandes is the only Man United star who would definitely make Spurs’ team
Neville has a ‘sickly feeling’ and fears United’s progress could be stalled for years if they lose
‘The biggest reason is when I look at every single player in the Tottenham team, when you look at (Dejan) Kulusevski, Son (Heung-min), Brennan Johnson, (Dominic) Solanke, if (James) Maddison was there, (Yves) Bissouma and (Pape Matar) Sarr, (Cristian) Romero and (Micky) Van de Ven, (Pedro) Porro and (Destiny) Udogie, when you look at those players, like-for-like with United’s, only Bruno (Fernandes) would get into the first 11 of Spurs.
‘I would select every single Tottenham player. The goalkeeper is a 50-50 split because I don’t like (Guglielmo) Vicario and I’m not a fan of (Andre) Onana.
‘Honestly, Udogie, Porro, Van de Ven, Romero, Bissouma, Sarr, Johnson, Maddison, Solanke, Kulusevski, Son, I would choose every single player of Tottenham’s over Manchester United’s next Wednesday. That’s my worry.
‘The one thing that keeps me alive – the likes of a Casemiro, a Bruno, they’ve got something in them that will step up for a one-off game that means I think that we’ll win.
‘But if the players play as they should do, pound-for-pound, Tottenham should win that game.’
He added: ‘When I look now at what’s going on, it’s really worrying. If they don’t win the Europa League, that means they won’t have the players they want next season which means they might not get the Champions League again, which means they literally kick it on for another two or three years.’
One thing that will soothe Neville somewhat is the fact that Maddison will not be available.
The Spurs creator admitted he is ‘gutted’ to miss out on the clash after sustaining a knee injury in the first leg of their semi-final against Bodo/Glimt.
Manchester United thrashed Athletic Bilbao 7-1 on aggregate to book their place in the final
Tottenham eased past Bodo/Glimt 5-1 on aggregate to give themselves a shot at silverware
Ruben Amorim admits he needs to have a ‘full squad’ and that his men must be ‘clinical’
Ruben Amorim admitted he was ‘worried’ about keeping all of his stars fit.
Captain Fernandes, scorer of 19 goals this season and provider of a further 19, is particularly important to their chances.
‘We have to have a full squad [against Tottenham], stay in the game and have a bit of luck and we have to be clinical,’ said Amorim.
‘It’s quite similar for me and Ange [Postecoglou]. It is a tough moment [for us both] and one of us is going to win. It’s going to be a big final and we will try to win.’
Gary Neville was speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet.
