Well, that didn’t take long.
With a 3-0 victory today over Fulham, Manchester United is back in the Premier League top 4 again.
It was only two months ago that ManU, under the guidance of the greatest manager in the history of soccer José Mourinho, found themselves white-knuckling a top 6 spot and Europa League appearance. Since sacking Mou and bringing in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United have gone undefeated in 11 straight games.
Is Manchester United Back for Real?
It certainly appears that way.
While Chelsea has a game in hand on the Red Devils, they match-up Sunday against Manchester City at the Etihad (also read: Manchester City vs. Chelsea betting preview). Chelsea is a big underdog at +550 to win the fixture. Unless Chelsea, who have been poor on the road all season, can pull off a draw or upset, United will sit alone in fourth, a point ahead of the Blues and Arsenal.
United are going to eventually lose a game. They face Liverpool on February 24th and Manchester City on March 16th (albeit both Old Trafford). FiveThirtyEight still has them as an underdog for Champions League qualification, with a 29% chance of making the top 4. This is in part due to only a 24% and 23% chance to defeat Liverpool and City in those games, respectively.
Regardless, their play under OGS (and specifically the reemergence of Paul Pogba) should lead their supports to believe a top 4 finish is very possible, if not probable.
And with Neymar out for their Champions League Round of 16 match-up against Paris Saint-Germain, United are poised to be playing meaningful games well into the spring.
Also read on High Press Soccer:
Jose Mourinho Better and Dropping Points than Pucks
What Does Neymar’s Injury Do to PSG’s Champions League Odds?
