EL Semi-final 1st Leg Preview
We are reaching the business end of the season now with all of Europe’s top competitions now at the semi-final stage. Here we take a look at the EL, the second tier competition, with both first legs of the semi-finals to be played this coming Thursday.
Two teams from the PL have made it to this stage, with both Tottenham and Manchester United desperate for success to mask their horrible form domestically. They are joined in the last four by Athletic Club de Bilbao, who are having an excellent campaign in Spain and outsiders Bodø. The two English sides are many people’s favourites to lift the trophy but one must certainly not write off the other two teams as Athletic Bilbao have the added advantage of knowing that the final will be played in their stadium, so if they ever needed an extra incentive that would be it. Bodø must not be discounted either as they got the better of Lazio in the previous round and Olympiacos in the one prior to that, so any issue in attitude from Tottenham could easily be punished. The fact that Tottenham have arguably the easier route to the final has made them favourites, as has the fact that they have already beaten United more than once this season.
The current odds for winning the competition outright are as follows, with not much in it between the top three teams, whereas Bodø are firm outsiders:
Spurs – 2.80
Athletic – 3.00
Man Utd – 3.10
Bodø – 15.00
Athletic Bilbao vs Manchester United
Estadio San Mames, Thursday @ 21:00
Athletic Club de Bilbao will be desperate to play the final of this competition in their home stadium and they will be quite confident of getting the better of their illustrious opponents over two legs. This first leg is very important though, as anything other than a positive result in the Estadio San Mames will make life very difficult for them when they head to Old Trafford. Ernesto Valverde’s team managed to get the better of another British team in the quarter-finals, when they got past Rangers and they do have a better head to head record against United with three wins versus one for the Red Devils. The last time these two met was also at the semi-final stage, back in 2011/12 when Athletic Bilbao went on to reach the final. They also have a 100% winning record at home in the competition this season, scoring 14 goals and only conceding 2. Nico Williams is in line for his first start since returning from injury and the wingers are likely to be key to any success for the home side.
Manchester United do not have a happy record against Spanish opposition in Europe and have been eliminated from various European competitions by La Liga opposition in ten of their last fifteen European campaigns. Despite that, the EL remains the only positive light in what has been a horrible season for Ruben Amorim’s men, and they are unbeaten so far. Their comeback win against Lyon at Old Trafford will live long in the memory as they seemed set to somehow throw away a two goal lead when they were losing 4-2 in extra time in the quarter-final. Defying all logic, they turned the match around and scored three quickfire goals to turn the tie around and qualify for this semi-final. Whilst that was an amazing achievement, they must be aware how close they were to being eliminated and that Bilbao will be a tougher opponent overall than Lyon. They will need some big performances from key men, with Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Harry Maguire all likely to be decisive in the tie.
Tottenham vs Bodø
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Thursday @ 21:00
Tottenham fans will be glad to see the end of this season, which has seen them languishing in the bottom half of the table for much of the year. The EL has been their only positive and they will be optimistic about getting the better of Bodø and making it to the showpiece final in Bilbao. Whether winning this competition will be enough for manager Ange Postecoglu to keep his job remains doubtful, but elimination before reaching the final will surely mark the end of his reign. Their preparation for this match was far from ideal as they were involved in the 5-1 win for Liverpool, surely no one connected to Tottenham wanted to be involved in that occasion. Nevertheless, they must pick themselves up now and focus on this important match as they need to win the home tie and they go into the match with a 100% winning record against Norwegian teams. Tottenham are also on a 19 match unbeaten run in Europe, with 15 wins in that sequence.
Bodø might be a surprise addition to the final four for some people but they have been on an excellent recent run in Europe, having scored in 24 out of the 26 matches that they have been involved in. The fact that they made easy work of Lazio in the previous round should make any other team wary of facing them and they go into this tie as the first ever Norwegian semi-finalists in any European club competition. They have yet to beat an English team though, having lost their previous three attempts so there is no doubt that they will go into this match as the underdogs. A goal in the first match would be excellent but they must be careful not to lose this tie in the first leg, so keeping things tight in the hope of doing well in the return leg is likely to be the way to go. They have won eight of the last ten two-legged European ties and they have been good at limiting the damage on their away trips, saving their home ties for when they have got the better of most opponents. Bodø have scored at least one goal in each of their last twelve away matches, a record they will be desperate to continue.
Please note that the odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.
Last updated: 29.04.25
