Manchester United can now pretty much just look ahead to the summer transfer window. Or at least their fans already have. Yes, they have one more game to play, on Championship Sunday against already relegated Cardiff City, but it’s essentially meaningless as 1.) United are already officially demoted to UEFA Europa League next season and 2.) Cardiff City have already been relegated to the Championship.
It will be interesting to see what kind of crowd United draws to this match, as the unrest among their fan base is extremely strong right now.
Alexis Sanchez, widely considered among the worst acquisitions in club history is a major doubt for this match, while central defender Eric Bailly is confirmed as out. As this is essentially a meaningless match, look for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to heavily rotate his side here.
The same goes for Cardiff- expect Neil Warnock to make some changes to his starting lineup. He will be without the services of the injured Joe Ralls, Callum Paterson and Sol Bamba however.
If this trio of players had been available for the Bluebirds, who knows if that would have made the difference to stay up in the top flight.
Manchester United vs Cardiff City FYIs
Kick-off: Sunday May 12, Old Trafford, 3pm
United Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Form Guide: United DDLLW Cardiff City LLLWL
Google Result Probability: United win 76% Draw 15% Cardiff City win 9%
Odds via 888 Sport: United 11/50, Draw 23/4, Cardiff City 23/2
Prediction: United 0, Cardiff City 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.