Manchester United could benefit from fixture postponements – opinion

Manchester United are on a four-game winning streak in the Premier League and they will not be given the chance to extend that run until next month when they face Manchester City.

The win over Arsenal at the start of this month seemed like the most significant out of the four wins but since then, the United Kingdom has entered a mourning period following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

Subsequently, all 10 games in the Premier League over the weekend were postponed and United’s trip to Crystal Palace was one of the casualties.

Premier League action will resume this weekend but three selected fixtures have been pushed forward, with United again seeing their weekend plans amended due to limited resources amid current events.

European fixtures have remained untouched and United kicked off their campaign against Real Sociedad last week, losing 1-0 at Old Trafford. On Thursday, they make the trip to Moldova to face Sheriff Tiraspol.

Premier League action won’t return until the start of next month, however, with the storied Manchester derby set to take place 28 days after United’s most recent league game.

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It can be argued that Erik ten Hag would have preferred for the games to keep coming amid their winning streak but the lethargic performance against Real Sociedad showed that plenty of work remains to be done on the training pitch.

Ten Hag’s stamp on United began to show over pre-season but since then, his time on the training pitch has been limited and he has been forced to rely on a more pragmatic approach.

An extended period away from games and with most first-team players available and ready to absorb information, the latest round of postponements could work in Ten Hag’s favour.

By this time in roughly three weeks, just days after the Manchester derby, Ten Hag will have faced Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City within his first seven league games – winning at least two of them.

That provides a dream springboard for the rest of the season or, at least, until the World Cup starts in November. The lack of games will also allow for nearly all of the summer signings to settle in.

Out of the six players signed by Ten Hag this summer, only Tyrell Malacia took part in United’s tour of Thailand and Australia.

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