Once again, Manchester United are in a European Final, and it feels natural to say it. However, it has not been all plain sailing this season, and United have fully shifted their focus onto the Europa League and not the Premier League, where they are in danger of finishing just one place above the final relegation position.
If there is no Europa League win the season will be classed as a disastrous one and question marks will creep in sooner on head coach Ruben Amorim then he would like.
However, in an effort to not face that embarrassment, he will he hoping to have as close to his best XI as possible on Wednesday against Tottenham Hotspur in front of a crowd in Bilbao expecting to see silverware lifted at the end of the night.
Many fans have paid a premium to see United in the Europa League final, so there will be an atmosphere of expectation amongst the travelling United support. On the pitch, United need to be ready and play up to the fans' expectations.
One way of playing up to the expectation is by havign a full strength side. With players like Mason Mount, Luke Shaw and Amad Diallo all returning to first team action recently fans will be hoping other players are fit for the final like Matthijs De Ligt, Lenny Yoro and Diogo Dalot.
The Portuguese right back is probably the closest to returning to first team action but with limited game time it will be touch and go if he will have any starting role in the team on Wednesday. Dalot state dhimself in an interview,
“I’m feeling good. So, feeling better every day. We just, at this stage, we go day by day to see how it goes, but so far so good.”
Dalot is chomping at the bit to return and despite some tiring performances from him recently, he is the best option United have in the right wing-back role with the current squad.
As a player who was not involved with the United squad when they last made the Europa League final in 2021, out on loan with AC Milan, Dalot will be hoping to go one better than his former Untied teammates and lift the trophy in Bilbao.
Ruben Amorim inclined to rest
United will play Chelsea in their final game before the Europa League final and despite Dalot needing minutes to be ready for the final, Amorim looks keen to rest the right back as he is intent on startign Dalot.
In the media day on Wednesday, Amorim said that Dalot was doing all he could to be fit but suggested that playing against Chelsea was not the best the idea in terms of Dalot proving his fitness,
"Dalot is trying really bad. I don’t want to risk Dalot, when you start getting one injury, a second injury is a big thing,"
"We cannot have these kind of problems in our squad. He’s working really hard to get in the final."