Following successful first-leg results, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are aiming to secure their places in the UEFA Europa League final. Both English clubs return to action on Thursday, with Manchester United playing Athletic Bilbao and Tottenham Hotspur facing Bodo/Glimt.
Manchester United holds a commanding 3-0 lead after their trip to Bilbao, while Spurs earned a 3-1 victory at home against Bodo/Glimt. These results make both sides strong favorites to advance. However, Athletic Bilbao and Bodo/Glimt will likely need exceptional performances to overturn the deficits and keep their Europa League ambitions alive.
The teams that progress will meet in the final at Bilbao`s San Mames Stadium on May 21. The winner of the tournament will also secure a spot in the next season`s UEFA Champions League.
Here is essential information for tuning into the second legs of the Europa League semifinals:
First Leg Scores
- Athletic Bilbao 0, Manchester United 3
- Tottenham Hotspur 3, Bodo/Glimt 1
How to watch Manchester United vs. Athletic Bilbao, odds
- Date: Thursday, May 8 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Old Trafford — Stretford, England
- Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: Manchester United -115; Draw +260; Athletic Bilbao +280
What Manchester United are saying
Despite holding a three-goal advantage, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag (Note: The original text incorrectly stated Ruben Amorim) is cautious. He acknowledges that the tie is not yet won and seems mindful of United`s potential for inconsistency.
“It is hard to say,” Ten Hag commented in his pre-match press conference. “Sometimes during the game, we are one team, something happens and we lose our mind a little bit. If you look at our team we cannot say today what is going to happen. Control the narrative – we cannot do that. I feel we need to score to go to the next round. We will have to suffer a bit to go to the final.”
Ten Hag also played down the significance of Athletic Bilbao being without three key players – top scorer Oihan Sancet and the Williams brothers, Nico and Inaki.
“It doesn`t matter,” he stated. “For us it is the top team of Athletic. I understand it is hard to play without key players but for us it doesn`t matter. We need to go to the game and try to win it.”
How to watch Bodo/Glimt vs. Tottenham Hotspur, odds
- Date: Thursday, May 7 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Aspmyra Stadion — Bodo, Norway
- TV: CBS Sports Network | Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: PSG +109; Draw +263; Arsenal +234 (Note: Odds listed in source appear incorrect for this fixture)
What Tottenham Hotspur are saying
Tottenham holds a two-goal lead, slightly less comfortable than United`s, meaning a single goal for Glimt could potentially tighten the match considerably. The opportunity to reach the final reignites the long-standing question around Spurs: can they finally end their trophy drought, which stretches back 18 years, and shift the perception of the club?
Manager Ange Postecoglou discussed the impact of winning. “I don`t know if it will change it, but certainly some of it becomes redundant for sure, because a big part of the narrative around the club is that we haven`t won for a very long time,” he said. “Some of it will still exist beyond that. From my perspective, [it is about] how do you create a winning culture? It all starts with winning. The more experiences you have of winning, if you can land a trophy along the way, it certainly gives belief within the whole club that it is capable of doing. We`ve still got a big game tomorrow to even get through to get to a final before we can start talking about that.”
Spurs face challenges in the second leg, notably injuries to key players like Son Heung-min, James Maddison, and Lucas Bergvall. However, as goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario noted, the squad is accustomed to dealing with such absences.
“We always have to deal with it to be fair,” Vicario stated. “We will not have Sonny and Madders tomorrow, but it is on us. The entire squad will be crucial.”
Postecoglou also addressed the debate about Europa League winners qualifying for the Champions League, a topic recently highlighted by Arsene Wenger. He suggested that criticism often unfairly targets Tottenham.
“Well that`s a debate that`s been raging for years, mate,” he commented. “At least the last eight days! I`ve never heard that before. I have said it before, mate: Spurs does crazy things to people. It does, it does. … You put that club (Tottenham) into any sentence or issue, and invariably they all come out and try and diminish us as much as they can. Why wasn`t it an issue before but it`s an issue now? What`s the difference? I don`t understand what the difference is. Last year, fifth (in the Premier League) didn`t get you into the Champions League, and now it does. What does that mean?”
