Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick made it clear- the ceiling for his club is fourth place. While Old Trafford won’t obtain a trophy, for the fifth year in a row, they can still achieve this. Man, has the bar been lowered in recent years at Old Trafford! This is all that United have to play for right now, so let’s take a look at the run in, and gaze into our crystal ball. Can United avoid being relegated to Thursday nights, in regards to their European football next season?
Let’s analyze and predict, starting with a look at the current standings for those looking to play Euro football next season. The top three seems safe, so we’ll skip them, and the ninth place team is so far off the pace, we left them out.
Current Standings for European Places
4th Arsenal 28 matches played, +13 goal differential, 54 pts
5th Tottenham Hotspur 29 matches played, +11 goal differential, 51 pts
6th Manchester United 29 matches played, +8 goal differential, 50 pts
7th West Ham 30 matches played, +10 goal differential, 48 pts
8th Wolverhampton Wanderers 30 matches played, +5 goal differential, 46 pts
5th and 6th go to Europa League with seventh goes to the recently created Conference League. Hooray for mediocrity.
Manchester United Run In Predictions
Sat Apr 2, Leicester, H, W, 2-1
Sat Apr 9, Everton, A, W, 3-0
Sat Apr 16, Norwich, H, W, 1-0
Tue Apr 19, Liverpool, A, L, 0-2
Sat Apr 23, Arsenal, A, L, 0-3
Mon May 2, Brentford, W, 1-0
Sat May 7, Brighton, A, D, 0-0
Sun May 15, Chelsea, H, D, 1-1
Championship Sunday, May 22, Crystal Palace, D, 2-2
Final numbers: 65 pts, GD +9
Bottom Line
Chelsea finished fourth each of the past two seasons, accumulating 67 and 66 points respectively. Tottenham finished fourth in ’19 with 71 points and Liverpool took fourth in ’18 with 75 points. Sorry, but 65 just won’t cut it. We’ll predict fifth place for United, but don’t rule out sixth place either.
Massive changes are coming to United this summer, as a A LOT of overpaid and less than fully interested and totally engaged players are going to leave. We’re also going to see a new manager in place, with Ajax’s Erik ten Hag the leading candidate. Mauricio Pochettino is right behind him.
Top Four/European Football Chances Analysis Series
United Arsenal Tottenham Wolves West Ham
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.