Both Arsenal and Manchester City lost their matches over the weekend to Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively. Their defeats have made the race for the Premier League title more interesting. Manchester United has now moved within eight points of the league leaders Arsenal and three points of Manchester City. This comes following their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Moreover, Arsenal seems to have some defensive frailties at the moment. Moreover, Manchester City is no longer looking as invincible as they usually do.
Hence, with a little less than half of the season left, Manchester United still has an outside chance of winning their first league title in a decade. United is going to play a couple of matches over the next week. The Red Devils should avoid dropping points in their home-and-away series with Leeds.
In this article, we are going to analyze United’s chances at winning the title come season’s end.
Manchester United has some big matches in April:
Manchester United have already played both their sets of matches against Arsenal and Manchester City, but will have to face strong opponents like Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle in April.
United will also face
Chelsea in April and although the Blues are not performing well this season. Their performance might very well by the time they play United, with their new signings clicking hand some other players recovering from injuries.
Therefore, United’s job will be to ensure that they lose as few points as possible against lesser opponents during the intervening period. Arsenal and Manchester City are going to face each other twice, meaning at least one of them likely to lose points in those fixtures. So, if United keep winning, the pressure will be firmly on those two sides.
Moreover, United are the only Premier League team still alive in four different competitions this season. They will face
Barcelona in a high-voltage clash in February in the Europa League. Plus, Erik ten Hag’s side takes on Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final later this month.
In comparison, Manchester City and Arsenal will have to worry about playing in three and two different competitions, respectively. Hence, they will be able to focus slightly more on the Premier League. Hence, it is very crucial for United to play as a squad and their reserve players will also have to play their part. It remains to be seen how they take up the challenge.
The reserve players have a chance to step up for United:
At this juncture, it is also very important for United’s reserve players to step up and do justice to their presence in the squad. For example, Casemiro is going to miss United’s next three match. That will be a chance for new signing
Marcel Sabitzer to make his mark. It remains to be seen whether Sabitzer is able to fill a Christan Eriksen-sized hole for the Red Devils.
Another player who has really impressed after coming in late as a substitute is young
Alejandro Garnacho. For all of United’s attacking prowess, they have been a little too dependent on the brilliant Marcus Rashford. The Englishman has scored 19 goals this season already.
Hence, it is time tor a youngster like Garnacho to help the team’s cause as a substitute with his speed and agility. Moreover, players like Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial should also be ready to chip in as and when the team requires them to. Erik ten Hag’s men should keep in mind that the title is not yet lost for them. So, they should keep up the good work that has brought them to their current position.
