Gary Neville has admitted that Tottenham are the favourites for the Europa League final, and not his former club Manchester United.
Neville, who spent his entire 19-year playing career at Old Trafford, also believes that just one of Ruben Amorim’s players would start for the north London club.
United face Spurs in a hotly-anticipated Europa League final that could define both clubs’ - and their respective managers’ - seasons.
The pair languish in the bottom half of the Premier League table, hovering just above the relegation zone.
United sit 16th, having been leapfrogged by West Ham after their 2-0 home defeat by the Hammers last Sunday.
Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs slipped to a 2-0 home loss of their own to London rivals Crystal Palace, who play Manchester City in the FA Cup final this weekend.
Speaking on The Overlap, Neville, who played 367 Premier League games for the Red Devils from 1992 to 2011, revealed that he had a “sickly feeling” ahead of United’s meeting with Spurs in Bilbao next week.
“The biggest reason is when I look at every single player in the Tottenham team, when you look at [Dejan] Kulusevski, [Heung-min] Son, 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 XI 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.”
Neville did believe that two of United’s star men could deliver that moment of quality that would quell his fears.
“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.”
When I look now at what's going on, it's really worrying
Neville went as far as to say that United’s present situation was “really worrying”, and that their ambitions for the next campaign could be dealt serious harm should they fail to lift the trophy in the Basque country.
“When I look now at what's going on, it's really worrying.” the former right-back continued.
“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.”
James Maddison, one of Tottenham’s prime creators, will not be fit enough to face United, with his season ended prematurely by a knee injury that he sustained in Spurs’ semi-final first leg victory over Bodo/Glimt.
Alongside him on the treatment table sit Lucas Bergvall, Radu Dragusin, and Dane Scarlett, all of whom Postecoglou has confirmed will be ruled out for the remainder of the campaign.
