Opposition watch: Spurs beaten again

Ange Postecoglou’s side were second best at Villa Park and beaten by second-half finishes from Ezri Konsa and Boubacar Camara.

It leaves Villa needing a win when they visit Old Trafford on the final day of the season to stand a chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

In the meantime, the Reds are hoping to secure our place in the league phase of the 2025/26 premier competition by seeing off Spurs in Bilbao.

It has been all about resting players in the build-up to the midweek contest at San Mames for Tottenham boss Postecoglou, who has now seen his side lose five of their last six league outings.

The Premier League approved the club’s request to bring forward the match against Villa from Sunday afternoon to Friday night - in line with United’s game at Chelsea - to allow Spurs more time to prepare for the final.

Postecoglou made three changes to his team from their 2-0 home defeat by Crystal Palace last Sunday, as captain Son Heung-min returned to the line-up after being sidelined for a month with a foot injury. Former United loanee Sergio Reguilon and teenage winger Mikey Moore also came in, as Pedro Porro and Rodrigo Bentancur dropped to the substitutes’ bench.

As previously reported, influential midfielder Dejan Kulusevski is set for several months on the sidelines after having surgery on the knee injury which forced him off in the 19th minute against Palace.

However with one eye on the showdown with United in Spain, it’s worth noting that Postecoglou had previously made eight changes for the Palace game, from the team that beat Bodo/Glimt 2-0 in Norway to seal a 5-1 aggregate victory in the semi-finals.

Postecoglou said Pape Matar Sarr was substituted as a “precaution” against Villa, after the midfielder was replaced by Yves Bissouma in the 53rd minute and appeared to be in discomfort as he went down the tunnel alongside medical staff. Moore also needed treatment before he was taken off in the 87th minute.

Giving an update on the pair, Postecoglou said in his post-match press conference: “Pape felt something in his back so we took him off as a bit of a precaution. I don’t think it’s anything too significant speaking to him afterwards but he just felt something in his back and I think Mikey [Moore] was okay. It was fatigue as much as anything else. He hasn’t played that sort of minutes before.”

Star man Son played 74 minutes and Postecoglou is optimistic he could be able to start in the Basque Country.

“He’s ready and he’s available,” said the manager. “They’re all ready to start so I think him playing 70-75 minutes today was important and you could see he opened up a couple of times. It’s as much about Sonny himself and feeling that he’s getting back into a rhythm and I think there were moments tonight where he showed that.”

Richarlison, Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke were all introduced late on as substitutes, but defensive trio Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie didn’t travel to the Midlands and won’t have played for two weeks when the final comes around.

When asked if that was a concern, the manager said they would be available against United and added: “For us, there’s no point bringing them here, they weren’t going to play. They stayed at home, they did a really strong [training] session and come Wednesday, knock on wood, they are all available and that’s the most important thing.”

With Guglielmo Vicario rested again, Antonin Kinsky - who is ineligible to play in the Europa League - was in goal for the second successive match and had a busy night against Unai Emery’s side.

It will be interesting to see who Postecoglou selects to line up against the Reds in the final. You can follow all the build-up to the season-defining showdown on ManUtd.com and in the United App.