United – A look at the run-in

United – A look at the run-in

Manchester United have it all to play for as the season draws to a close. They find themselves lying in 5th place in the Premier League, after defeating Middlesborough 3-1 at the Riverside on Sunday. Goals from Fellaini, Lingard and Valencia ensured all 3 points made their way back to Old Trafford. The result means that United are within touching distance of their top 4 rivals, in a race that looks set to go down to the wire.

So let’s take a look at United’s run-in, how have the opponents they will face fared this season so far, and what form are they in?

April is a hectic month for Jose Mourinho’s men, the Portuguese will need to manage his squad carefully as they play six Premier League games. They start the month at home to West Brom and then Everton; two sides that are in good form and look out on their own in the pack chasing the top six teams. West Brom wiped the floor with Arsenal at the weekend and are having a strong season under Tony Pulis. Everton are flying right now and currently have the leagues top striker in Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian can’t stop scoring right now.


April also sees games against struggling sides Sunderland  (away) and Swansea (home), these are two games that United will expect to win, but the opposition will be fighting for their lives, which could make the task much harder than expected.

The Red Devils also take on Chelsea at home and Burnley away in April, possibly the two hardest fixtures of the month. Chelsea are the league’s runaway leaders, and Burnley have the 6th best home record in the league this season (even better than United’s).

The month of May starts with two vital matches in the race for the top 4, with games away to both Arsenal and Tottenham. This is bound to be make or break time as far as United’s top 4 ambitions go. They will certainly need to avoid defeat and may even be required to snatch a win or two by this stage of the season.

The year is concluded with a home match against Crystal Palace, this should be a regulation win, but if Palace need a result on this, the last day of the season, anything could happen.

Paul Pogba

However, it’s not just the Premier League where United will face high-stakes games from now till the end of the season, they are still in, and are in fact favourites to win the Europa League this campaign. Splitting the club’s priorities could prove troublesome for United and will need to be managed carefully to ensure their season doesn’t derail come crunch-time.

The Red Devils face Anderlect in the quarter-finals, a match-up that they will be confident of progressing from. The rest of the draw looks particularly favourable this year, with the main competition likely to come from Celta Vigo, Lyon or Schalke. United should feel confident of toppling any of those teams, their manager and players have far greater European pedigree.

If big players like Ibrahimovic and Pogba perform well for the remainder of the season then they will have a real chance of finishing in the top 4 and winning the Europa League. That would be two cup wins in Mourinho’s first season at the club, a good start to say the least.