Manchester United return to Premier League action this evening when they welcome Sheffield United to Old Trafford for an 8pm kick-off.
As has been the case throughout the majority of the campaign thus far, the Red Devils are enduring a tumultuous period.
They enter tonight’s fixture on the back of four winless fixtures – three draws and one defeat. Last Sunday, in the FA Cup semi-final, they were taken to penalties by Championship outfit Coventry City after conceding three goals in the last 20 minutes of regular time.
Recent affairs in the top flight have seen United drop to seventh in the table which, if they stay there or move lower, would see them level or break the record for their lowest-ever finish in the PL era.
16 points separate Erik ten Hag’s men and fourth-placed Aston Villa, although United have played two fewer games. Champions League football in M16 next term now seems a very distant hope for the faithful supporters and it remains to be seen if a competition like the Europa Conference League, one that they’ve never played in, would even benefit the squad given this season’s debilitating injury crisis and the increased fixtures it would bring.
In hopes of rallying his troops before they come head-to-head with the underperforming Bladesmen, Ten Hag sent a pre-match message through MUTV, saying: “Win. In football, it’s about the result and about winning. And we have now two opportunities to go into Europe – one is through the league and one is through the cup final. So, yeah, make sure we’re collecting enough points in the league first, because that’s the first opportunity, and then the FA Cup final. We bury that now, for now. We have to refocus and we go into the last week. But, for now, all the focus has to be on the league.”
As for the travelling side, the majority of their supporters are resigned to dropping down to the Championship after just one campaign in their return to the top flight.
The Yorkshire outfit sit rock-bottom of the table on 16 points – seven away from 19th-placed Burnley – and have sustained 23 losses in total, winning just three of their 33 matches played.
Therefore, while the Reds’ form is indeed poor, and even with paper writers online on PaperWriter, there is only one winner when it comes to which team reads better on paper when it comes to United and the Blades.
