Ruben Amorim has said Manchester United are a “better team” now compared to the one that lined up against Tottenham in last season’s Europa League final.
Man Utd and Spurs meet in a lunchtime kick-off on Saturday as both sides chase victory in their final Premier League outing before the international break.
The two sides are currently separated by goal difference in the table, though Tottenham are higher and had Man United’s number throughout the 2024-25 campaign.
Across four meetings in all competitions, Spurs won every single game and did so without conceding a goal. The standout fixture being the Europa League final as Brennan Johnson’s scruffy goal settled the tie.
The win ended Tottenham’s long wait for a major trophy and earned qualification to the Champions League, leaving the Red Devils empty handed and without any European football for this season.
Amorim was in charge of three of those matches after succeeding Erik ten Hag a year ago and goes into the weekend clash hoping to avoid yet another loss to the north London outfit.
Speaking ahead of the game, the Portuguese tactician has explained why he and the team are in a confident mood ahead of the latest showdown with Spurs.
“First of all, the characteristics of the players,” he told reporters in the pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon. “We have different characteristics in our team but we also have a lot of players that played last year.
“So we are a better team, we play better, we understand the game better. I think we are more confident. We reached that final confident that we could win because we were doing well in Europe, but in this moment we play with a different confidence.
“We managed better the moments of the game, but if you remember that game they had that [one] shot on the goal, they won the game.
“I expect a different game, that we can play better but also to have a little bit of luck to help us win the game.”
So we are a better team, we play better, we understand the game better. I think we are more confident
To Amorim’s point, Man Utd are on a good run of form having overcome a rough start to the season. Unbeaten in their last four games, this run includes a win over bitter rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
Furthermore, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund - two players who started the Europa League final in May - are not currently at the club after joining Trabzonspor and Napoli respectively on loan during the summer transfer window.
In their places, Senne Lammens has made an encouraging start to life as United’s first-choice goalkeeper, while Benjamin Sesko leads a new-look attack which also includes Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.
