After their FA Cup defeat to Arsenal, they need to focus on getting into the Champions League places… with Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton all waiting to take advantage of any slip-ups.
Manchester United’s FA Cup quarter-final clash with Arsenal was the start of an incredibly tricky looking set of fixtures for Louis van Gaal’s side, which is likely to go a long way to deciding the fate of their season.
Having been defeated by Arsenal at Old Trafford, it now means they will end the season without a trophy for the second successive campaign. It signals one big disappointment for Manchester United.
Next up is a huge game in the context of their league season in the form of Arsenal’s North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who seem to have a fair bit of momentum with them in the league.
Spurs may be two places behind United, but they just trail by three points, meaning a win for the visitors to the North West on Sunday means they will go level with van Gaal’s side, and give Liverpool the opportunity to leapfrog them into the top four. United’s league position is precarious after a good looking first half to the season where they seemed to be pretty comfortable in third place.
But their performances haven’t really improved, and only four wins away from home shows they’re not the best on their travels.
The worry for United is, failure to win in their next two games means they will have opened the door for at least one team to leapfrog them, and they need to preserve a strong home record between now and the end of the campaign.
Striking a blow against Tottenham would be big for United for two reasons – they will keep their noses in front of the chasing back, plus they’ll stop Mauricio Pochettino’s men in their tracks. If they lose to Tottenham, they run the risk of their season unravelling so quickly that defeat to Liverpool the following week could finish it off.
What follows on is potentially gruelling. If Aston Villa continue what looks like a resurgence under Tim Sherwood then they will be a difficult test at the beginning of April, before United face a Manchester derby against City, which are followed by difficult trips to league leaders Chelsea and an Everton side scrapping for every point.
Failing to win on Sunday against Tottenham could cause a few more jitters among those associated with Manchester United.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
