Tottenham Hotspur

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport Journalist

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Tottenham Hotspur winger Son Heung-min spoke to the media before tomorrow's Europa League final against Manchester United.

Son spoke about his return from injury and his fitness level: "I am ready and obviously back from injury. It was my first game against Crystal Palace and afterwards I played against Villa. I didn't expect to play that long but I managed to play. Physically, I am ready to go and also the boys are ready to go for the biggest game of the season."

The Tottenham captain also spoke about using the 2019 Champions League final loss alongside another player who featured: "Ben Davies is here. Let's not forget about his commitment and work rate. It's going to be a huge moment for both of us and also for the boys if we win. As we always say, the first step is going to be really the hardest. If we win that trophy, we can change the mentality and we can change the history and hopefully we can continue to compete for other trophies."

Son was also asked if former Tottenham talisman Harry Kane had got in touch with him ahead of tomorrow's game: "Everyone knows Harry is my best mate and it was a huge honour of playing alongside him. After he won his first title, we had a chat about his trophy. He is already on holiday so he doesn't have to text me. I am just concentrating myself with the boys and I'm sure Harry will be the biggest Spurs fan tomorrow and supporting us from his holidays."

Finally, the South Korea captain also indulged on his contract but reiterated that the focus is on winning tomorrow: "We never know about the future, we might play in the Champions League next year, we might play in the final. The chance that I have now is real, tomorrow is the final. I am just not thinking about anything else, this could be my last chance or another chance. I just want to concentrate on tomorrow, winning and lift the trophy with the boys and celebrate together."

We asked you to tell us how you're travelling to Bilbao for Wednesday's Europa League final against Manchester United.

The head of UK football policing, Chief Constable Mark Roberts, told BBC Sport that between 50,000 to 80,000 could be travelling to the Spanish city for the showpiece.

Here are some of your replies:

Nathan: We're flying out tomorrow morning from Bournemouth to Carcassonne, then driving to Irun, where our hotel is. Then we move on to Bilbao from there. Hoping to be in Bilbao by 15:00-16:00.

Tristen: 07:15 flight tomorrow morning, then a 16:00 flight back on Thursday. No accommodation booked or I guess even needed - bars and clubs after the game till the early hours celebrating our win, then a coffee shop to wake myself up and sit in the sun till our flight home. With my daughter, Darcey.

BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Chris Sutton has questioned the decisions of both Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim to field weakened sides in the build-up to their Europa League final.

Speaking on Monday Night Club, he said: "It's so difficult to call because both teams have made so many changes.

"You want to go into a cup final with momentum don't you? It's just that selection fear, Ange Postecoglou won't play Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, but are they going to be undercooked?

"I understand what both managers are thinking, but it really adds to the occasion.

"I can't remember a game which is so highly-pressurised for both sets of teams."

On Postecoglou, Sutton added: "Tottenham play Brighton in that last game. Just imagine the atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium if Tottenham lose (the final). Postecoglou walking out, I suspect he might not be in charge if he loses the final as that will be as toxic as anything."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer

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The countdown to kick-off is getting closer and the nerves are rising. It is nearly time for the Europa League final.

Fans are making their way there way to Bilbao to see if Tottenham can get a first trophy under Ange Postecoglou and secure Champions League football for next season.

But how are your travel plans going?

Are you already in the city or have you still got a few more miles via plane, train, boat or car to go?

Have you got your ticket for the match sorted or will you be watching on while soaking up the local atmosphere?

Send us your stories and pictures from how your trip to the Europa League final is going

Ali Speechly
Fan writer

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Remember Mauricio Pochettino and his lemons?

Whatever your personal feelings are about universal energy or manifesting positivity, Poch somehow got us to a Champions League final, so the lemons clearly worked for him.

As Ange Postecoglou prepares to go one step further and actually win a European trophy with Spurs, he will be encouraging his players to focus on the positives – and I think us fans need to do the same.

Whether you love his approach or can't wait to see him leave, Ange is the man in charge for our date with destiny in Bilbao – and it might be time to admit that I have underestimated the strength of his relationship with the players.

Several of the squad have opened up about the impact Ange has had on the dressing room, most recently Yves Bissouma, who has described his manager as like a dad or uncle to the players.

Unity is integral to successful teams. Despite an abysmal domestic league campaign, the players maintain that it is their manager who has protected them, believed in them, and kept them together on and off the pitch.

Both sets of fans will feel anxious going into this final, but us Spurs fans need to stick together - just like our team.

Manchester United will feel they have history on their side. Well, apparently this is the year of the underdog, of trophyless teams having their names carved on to silverware, of victory against all odds, of dreams coming true.

So, if this is to be one of the last times we see Uncle Ange in charge at Spurs, we should let him inspire us to do more than just dream.

We must dare to believe we will win.

Find more from Ali Speechly at Women Of The Lane, external and on Instagram, external

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With Tottenham and Manchester United set to battle it out for Europa League glory, here are some key facts going into the game.

• It will be the sixth all-English major European competition final, and the third of those to involve Spurs, after the 1971-72 Uefa Cup final (won 3-2 on aggregate against Wolves) and the 2018-19 Champions League final (lost 2-0 to Liverpool).

• Tottenham and United's only previous meeting in major European competition came in the 1963-64 Cup Winners' Cup last 16, with the Red Devils progressing 4-3 on aggregate.

• United are winless in their last six meetings with Tottenham (D2 L4), and have lost the past three in a row. The Old Trafford side have never gone seven without victory against Spurs, and have also never lost four successive matches against them.

• Tottenham have won the Uefa Cup/Europa League twice (1972 and 1984) and victory on Wednesday would see them become the second English club to win it three times, along with Liverpool. The only side to win the competition on more than three occasions are Sevilla (seven).

• This will be Manchester United's ninth major European final, with only Liverpool (15) reaching more among English clubs. However, the Red Devils have failed to win three of their past four.

Ali Speechly
Fan writer

We asked our Tottenham fan contributor for their four candidates for player of the season and you can now select your top one.

Lucas Bergvall

Bergvall has more than lived up to the promise he showed in pre-season. Not only has he excelled on and off the ball, he has never stopped striving for the win. When more seasoned professionals around him have struggled to lead the team, this young player has risen to the challenge.

Dejan Kulusevski

Deki had a particularly strong start to the campaign and is integral to our pressing style and ball retention. Don't let his time out with injury shorten your memory - the Swede's statistics speak volumes as to his dominance in a Spurs shirt this season.

Djed Spence

A breath of fresh air and a much-needed injection of hope, Spence's performances this season have demonstrated what it means to play without fear. He has been a joy to watch as he took on the opposition with courage and creativity, driving us up the pitch at home and in Europe.

Dominic Solanke

The engine of our team, Solanke simply never gives up. Even when heads behind him in midfield have dropped, he has kept running, kept pressing, kept trying. Some will criticise the number of goals scored, but no-one should underestimate the crucial work Solanke has done off the ball for us this season.

Honourable mentions

Brennan Johnson still receives a mixed reception from some of the Spurs faithful, but you can't argue with his impressive goal contributions this season – not only the number, but the significance of some of the goals too. As for Archie Gray, what an outstanding first season from him - and in an unfamiliar position. Thrown in at the deep end, at times he outperformed his more experienced peers. To dare is to do, indeed.

Pick your 2024-25 Tottenham player of the season from our shortlist here

And tell us why you're picking who you are, or why you'd have gone for another player not on the list, here

Find more from Ali Speechly at Women Of The Lane, external and on Instagram, external

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Before 15 December, Tottenham Hotspur full-back Djed Spence had played just 64 minutes of Premier League football this season. Since, he has completed 90 minutes in 19 of Spurs' 22 league games.

The transformation is stark. At first, Spence was so far down Ange Postecoglou's pecking order that he was not even included in the squad for the Europa League group stage, coming in for the knockout stages.

He has been one of the most compelling individual stories this season – a breakthrough at age 24 that comes comparatively late for a top-flight footballer. Such has been his rise, there was clamour for him to feature in Thomas Tuchel's first England squad last month.

Spence missed out with Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly instead called up as the debutant left-back, despite the Spurs man making more Premier League tackles, interceptions, clearances, blocks and defensive headers this campaign.

With his mix of physicality, athleticism, defensive ability and attacking skill, aligned with his right-footedness, the man who was a few months ago a Spurs outcast now seems well adapted to the demands of being a Premier League left-back or left wing-back.

Middlesbrough sporting director Kieran Scott spoke to BBC Sport about Spence's physical prowess.

"His athleticism is so natural, he can play in the Premier League just purely down to what he's born with and he can play football, he's got ability," says Scott.

"I'm not shocked to see him playing ability-wise, it was just more down to application. He's got it right and it's working well and he's got to stay at that level.

"I always thought he had the ability to play in the Premier League. Not many players can run as fast as him for as long as him and just can keep doing it.

"Modern day football is why he is where he is."

Read more on Spence and his Spurs career

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's five Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

Saturday 17th May

FA Cup final: Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester City - 5 LIVE

Sunday 18th May

West Ham 1-2 Nottingham Forest - 5 LIVE

Brentford 2-3 Fulham – SPORTS EXTRA 2

Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle - 5 LIVE

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We asked for your thoughts after Friday's Premier League game between Aston Villa and Tottenham.

Here are some of your comments:

Villa fans

Rob: A thoroughly professional display. The Villa of old would have panicked at being 0-0 at half-time and we would've lost it 1-0 at the death. But that's not this Unai Emery team. They controlled the second half and took our chances without breaking a sweat. Bring on Man Utd.

Simon: Obviously so pleased for the three points, but seeing Martinez go off in tears has me worried that we've seen the last of him. Whatever happens, he will always be a Villa legend. On to Old Trafford for, hopefully, a rare victory there.

Ian: A nervy first half, but Spurs' only threat was on the break. It was a well deserved win in the second half and very comfortable. Spurs never really threatened our goal. Just one more win now and I think we will get that Champions League spot. In Unai we trust. Keep the faith, UTV.

Paul: A stroll in the end. Emery deserves credit for taking a failing team and turning them into a team that has qualified for Europe three years in a row, but there still needs to be consistency so we don't have meltdowns like Olympiakos or Wembley this season. We've finished the season like a train but the dropped points back in the winter may well cost us. On our day, we go toe-to-toe with the best and hurt them, so a Spurs team not wanting to get injured before a final was pretty easy to predict.

Spurs fans

Andy: I know it was almost a nothing game for us, given our final on Wednesday, but it still feels like something is fundamentally wrong in the changing room. Getting to the Champions League could be the worst thing to happen to us. With the extra games and these performances, we will be relegated next season.

Roger: Yet another shambolic, totally disorganised, lacklustre performance. Even allowing for missing and out-of-form players, the performances this season have clearly demonstrated that the current management and coaching is nowhere near what is required in the Premier League. Even a win next week or buying new players won't change that. The club needs to act quickly and make wholesale changes before pre-season or we will get relegated next year.

Meesh: It's been the same all season - we look lost. I was gritting my teeth in vain thinking we may actually win this. And yet more injuries!

Norman: Oh dear. The first half really gave me hope and I can see positives for next season with our great young players (if we can keep them). The second half was dreadful and I cannot wait for the end of the season and an end to this manager. A dreadful season, irrespective of what happens in the Europa League final.

Did you know?

• Since the start of March, Aston Villa have won 24 points in the Premier League from their nine games (W8 L1), more than any other side in that period (Newcastle next on 22 points).

• Tottenham have now lost 25 games in all competitions this season, their joint-highest number of defeats in a single campaign in their history along with 1991-92 (25).

• Ollie Watkins has been directly involved in 109 Premier League goals for Aston Villa (75 goals, 34 assists), the outright most of any player for the club (one more than Gabriel Agbonlahor).

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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to Sky Sports following the defeat at Villa Park: "Pape [Matar Sarr] felt something in his back so we took him off as a precaution. It's nothing too significant. Mikey [Moore] was OK, he was just fatigued.

"Son Heung-min is ready and available [for the Europa League final]. They all are ready to start. It was important for him to play in this game, he feels like he is getting back to some rhythm.

"I thought that up until Aston Villa scored, the boys worked hard. They were really disciplined and organised. We didn't really let them create too many openings.

"We had our moments going forward as well but, once they scored, we lost a little bit of belief. A lot of those guys haven't played a lot, we looked like we were fatiguing and then the game just got away from us."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

What did you make of Aston Villa's performance?

Have your say on Tottenham's display

Come back to this page on Saturday to find a selection of your replies

Two matches make up Friday's Premier League action, and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Aston Villa v Tottenham (19:30)

• Chelsea v Manchester United (20:15)

Kick-off times BST

Follow all of the action and reaction here