Manchester United’s ambitions before the start of this season were very high, and the fans expected to see a step forward compared to the results in the previous campaign.
Currently, that isn’t the case, and the Red Devils are still struggling with consistency and the overall quality of performances. From time to time, this unit shows its true face, but they often surprise the entire football world with some unexpected failure, which is hard to explain.
For example, they defeated Manchester City and Tottenham but lost to Bournemouth and Watford with their best possible lineup available. By the way, these two teams are from the lower part of the standings.
It is because of this that United trails Chelsea and other teams from the top of the standings. Capturing a Champions League spot for the next season is the main goal for Solskjaer and his team and at the moment, there are two ways for doing that. The first is to finish among Premier League’s top 4 places, and the second is winning the Europa League.
It is apparent that United can’t reach Liverpool and Manchester City in the domestic championship. The same applies to Leicester City unless the Foxes have some kind of a late meltdown. The realistic thing, in this case, is to battle with Chelsea and Tottenham for that fourth place.
The Blues are the No.1 favourites for clinching the top four spot at the end of the season. Right now, their odds are 8/15; United comes next with 10/3, Tottenham sits at 4/1, while disastrous Arsenal is at 12/1. Also, Wolves shouldn’t be neglected, and their top-four finish is priced 18/1. You can find more Premier League odds and offers, as well as the list of the latest bookies promotions by following the link provided in this paragraph.
If they fail to achieve their goal through the domestic competition, the Red Devils will have to try to win the Europa League. It is something they’ve already done before, under Mourinho in 2017.
United’s prospects for doing that are looking very good. All the bookmakers are unanimous in giving them the highest chances for taking the trophy, and with 11/2, Solskjaer’s unit is somewhat ahead of Sevilla at 6/1. Ajax is 15/2, and Inter Milan at 8/1. Arsenal at 9/1 and Wolves with 12/1, are also in the upper part of the candidate list.
Manchester’s first opponent in the knockout stage is going to be Club Brugge, and the first leg will take place in Belgium. This team joined the Europa League from the Champions League after finishing third in the group.
Nevertheless, the English side is a favourite in every aspect of betting, and the odds on their win on the road are at 13/10. Brugge’s success is at 2/1, and a draw is 12/5.
It is expected for United to eliminate the Belgian champions without any problems and to continue its quest towards the trophy. Winning this piece of silverware would likely keep Solskjaer’s current job, regardless of all the other results he delivers. It would most definitely cement his position as a long-term solution on United’s bench and earn him even more sympathies among the fans.
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