Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

We getting news of someone who has failed to reach their intended destination - and it's not the Spurs media delegation...

While we wait for the Tottenham news conference to begin, just a quick update on the movement of people heading from the UK to northern Spain.

Manchester United and Spurs fans have taken some holiday makers by surprise en route to Bilbao.

They've been sitting together on the ferry, chanting songs and having "a good craic".

Love the optimism of one of these guys too.

"I'm not confident all all! I've been a Tottenham fan for 37 years. It's the hope that kills you, we're just here for a good laugh hopefully."

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur's centre-back pairing of Micky Van de Ven and Cristian Romero have been on the pitch together just 17 times in all competitions throughout 2024-25.

Of the 17, on only 14 occasions have they played 60 minutes or longer as a pairing.

In those 14 where they have actually played a significant chunk of time - Spurs have won eight times and lost just four - all four of which have been by just a one-goal margin.

In the Premier League, the two have played together just 11 times and only nine of those have been for 60 minutes or longer.

Spurs won four of those nine games where the two started together and when you consider their win column in the league as a whole this season sits at just 11 - that's a mighty big chunk.

Their presence could prove pivotal on Wednesday evening.

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

There is some early movement in the media room in Bilbao so don't go anywhere as Ange Postecoglou et al could be with us any second.

Now I have said that they will probably be 15 minutes late...

Simon Stone
BBC Sport chief football news reporter in Bilbao

I am not sure how much Ange Postecoglou, Son Heung-min and Pedro Porro are looking forward to the media but they will be here in 15 minutes or so.

A couple of hours after that, Ruben Amorim, Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire will be facing the media for Manchester United.

How bold will they be? Will they fan the flames of controversy. Or will they just try to play it all down, praise the opposition and get out with no fuss.

I suspect it will be the latter.

We shall see.

Image source, BBC Sport

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

So it's a case of seconds out, round four?

Tottenham might have won the opening three rounds against Manchester United this season, but the question is, can they land the knockout blow in the Europa League final?

Or will Ruben Amorim's players overcome their wounded pride to get up off the canvas and complete a smash and grab?

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham completed the league double over Manchester United when they met at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in February with a 1-0 win.

It didn’t have the drama of the League Cup clash, while Spurs didn’t show the dominance they did at Old Trafford, but it was an important three points for Ange Postecoglou’s side.

James Maddison’s 13th-minute goal proved to be the difference. United did create opportunities to equalise but could not take them.

Tottenham became the first side to win three separate games in a single season against Manchester United in all competitions since Chelsea (2012-13).

Baz in Swindon: Year of the bird? I hope so!

• Liverpool = Liver bird
• Newcastle = Magpie
• Crystal Palace = Eagle
• Tottenham = Cockerel

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The League Cup quarter-final between the two sides was full of drama.

Spurs were 3-0 up with less than half an hour to play and their progression looked certain but United capitalised on two mistakes from Fraser Forster to put them within touching distance of levelling the tie.

Son Heung-min eased some late Spurs nerves by scoring their fourth in the 88th minute before Jonny Evans added a third for United in stoppage time.

Spurs advanced with a 4-3 win but it wasn’t without drama.

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham will take confidence from their record against Manchester United this season. They’ve won all three games against them - two in the Premier League and one in the League Cup quarter-finals.

Back in September, Spurs won 3-0 at Old Trafford in the Premier League. Our Chief Football Writer Phil McNulty called Spurs’ performance "magnificent" as they "outclassed" 10-man United.

Tottenham took the lead in the third minute through Brennan Johnson to kickstart a dominant first half. It went from bad to worse for Erik ten Hag's side just before the break when Bruno Fernandes was sent off. Dejan Kulusevski doubled Spurs’ lead two minutes after the break before Dominic Solanke added a third 12 minutes from time.

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham fans, this is your 30-minute warning.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou will be holding his news conference at 15:30 BST, alongside players Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min.

We will have a live stream of the news conference at the top of this page, and will then bring you live images of Spurs' training session in Bilboa from around 16:30.

Be warned, these things rarely run as advertised, so treat the timings more as a guide.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport chief football news reporter in Bilbao

Image source, Getty Images

Marcus Rashford has posted a 'good luck guys' message on reply to a post around Alejandro Garnacho's determination for Manchester United to win in Bilbao tomorrow night.

Rashford played in the first six games of United's run to the Europa League final but has not featured since the victory over Czech side Viktoria Plzen in December.

He spent the second half of the season on loan at Aston Villa but after picking up a hamsting injury, his domestic campaign is not over as Unai Emery's side end their Premier League season at Manchester United on Sunday and Rashford is not allowed to play.

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham may have the longest history in the Uefa Cup, but Manchester United have the more recent success in the competition, with two visits to the final since it was rebranded as the Europa League.

They won it in 2017 under Jose Mourinho, after beating Ajax 2-0 in Stockholm.

In 2021 they reached the final again, this time under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and faced Villarreal in Gdansk. It finished 1-1 after 120 minutes and the most incredible penalty shootout followed.

The Spanish side, managed by current Aston Villa boss Unai Emery, won 11-10 on penalties after United goalkeeper David de Gea had his effort saved.

The evidence is in folks...Manchester United supporters have made it to Bilbao.

They look to be enjoying themselves in the city's Plaza Nueva - complete with some natty headwear...

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, PA Media

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

Image source, PA Media

That black and white image of Spurs skipper Graham Roberts scoring against Anderlecht in the 1984 Uefa Cup final makes me feel old, as I remember watching that...in colour, I might add.

Join me in feeling old with this next fact - Harry Howell became Brighton's youngest player when the 17-year-old midfielder made his Premier League debut last night against Liverpool.

He was not born the last time Tottenham won their last trophy, beating Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup final (2-1 AET).

Current Spurs winger Mikey Moore was just over six months old that day.

Ricky is worried about Tottenham ending their 17-year wait for a trophy, while referencing the fact that this season has seen two other English clubs - Newcastle and Crystal Palace - break their own trophy droughts.

However, Tottenham do have previous in this competition, in its previous guise as the Uefa Cup.

Spurs were the first ever winners back in 1972 - they beat Wolves 3-2 across two legs - and won the competition again in 1984 against Anderlecht. Both legs finished level but Spurs prevailed on penalties.

Since the competition’s rebrand to the Europa League, the furthest Spurs have got is the quarter-finals.

Image source, PA Media

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter on BBC Radio 5 Live

I suspect that Tottenham fans are not that bothered about the prize money, I think they just want a trophy.

They famously haven't won anything since 2008.

Crystal Palace won the FA Cup last weekend, Newcastle won the Carabao Cup after a long time of not winning anything, so I think Tottenham fans will want to join that particular party.

Ange Postecoglou seems to be in very dangerous waters anyway, whether they win or lose, so from a club perspective you could argue that Manchester United need it more. Their finances certainly need it more.

But from a fan perspective, it is the Tottenham fans that are craving a trophy.

These Spurs fans obviously didn't read the memo about adding names to messages, but were happy to send us a picture. We featured a note from them earlier about their route to Bilbao, which started in Glasgow at midday on Sunday.