Manchester United return to Old Trafford this weekend after back-to-back defeats on the road.
The losses have loosened the Red Devils’ grip on the Premier League’s top four, sparking concern among fans, and likely the squad, on whether they’ll be able to pick up enough points to secure a Champions League spot.
If they didn’t, it would raise questions about the successes of Erik ten Hag’s first season in charge.
Ending United’s six-year trophy drought was absolutely crucial for whichever manager took the dugout following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking, and Ten Hag did exactly that on his first try.
June provides the prospect of adding another piece of silverware under his belt if the Reds are able to overturn longtime rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final. Each side’s form will make United the underdogs heading into the clash at Wembley but, without sounding too cliche, form does go out the window in games like this.
But before we get to that point, the Premier League campaign will draw to a close in the coming weeks, and United must be firmly cemented in the top four places.
One thing that does significantly boost their chances is that three of their four remaining games are on home turf where they’ve tasted league defeat only once – on the opening day of the season against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Old Trafford showing shades of what it once was
Since then, it’s been formidable form in M16 and the squad is building on Ten Hag’s desire to make Old Trafford a fortress again – as it should be. Teams need to fear travelling to the home of the 20-time champions and in recent years, they haven’t.
The run-in for the Reds is as follows: Wolverhampton Wanderers (H), Bournemouth (A), Chelsea (H) and Fulham (H).
On paper, you’d expect them to see out all four wins and with around nine points needed to book their place among Europe’s finest next term, let’s hope they can do exactly that.