Manchester United are now getting closer to the middle part of the season, when things get really interesting. It is then that we start seeing which teams can attack what kind of results and that will, then, be the time we will see what this Man United team can actually achieve this season.
The Devils are sitting in tenth place in the Premier League standings with just 13 points after 11 rounds. That is a horrible start of the season and Leicester City are, for example, ten points ahead Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side and sitting in third.
So, the upcoming month can show us a lot about this squad, mostly because of the schedule. One match has already been played, against Bournemouth and United lost 1-0 at Dean Court. The remaining four matches are not against the opposition United should be afraid of, but we have seen the flaws of this squad already.
Partizan At Home
The Devils will meet again with Partizan Belgrade, but this time at Old Trafford. Two weeks after the match in Serbia, this Thursday will see the Partizan arrive in an odd moment for both clubs. Zoran Tosic will be playing again at Old Trafford after a decade and Partizan seem to be playing much better in Europe than in the league.
Despite beating Vojvodina 4-0 in one of the Serbian derbies last weekend, Partizan are 13 points behind Red Star, their arch rivals, and against United they will hope to get a result that could make it easier for them to qualify for the knockout rounds.
Brighton At Home
After that, United will host Brighton and Hove Albion, which will be an intriguing matchup. The Devils are clearly the better side, but Graham Potter is doing some great things for that team, with his expansive football with three centre-backs. That could be odd for United to meet, but it could also leave a lot of space for our forwards. Brighton are keen on playing possession football and starting their attacks from the back. Those kind of teams usually do not do well against United.
Sheffield United Away
Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United will follow after the international break. Those two weeks will do good for United and the Blades are another team that can be an intriguing opposition. They play a 3-5-2, but in an odd way, with their centre-backs switching positions with their wing-backs, which has caused some teams headaches, mostly because of illogical moves that team would be making. Anyway, that is another team Man United must back themselves to do well against.
Astana Away
And at the end of November, the fifth match in Europa League, a long trip to Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan. The Devils will go deep into Asia for this one, but that should not be a reason for them not to win. Astana have shown that they are a team that will most probably finish fourth in this group. They lost 2-1 to Partizan at home and then 6-0 to AZ Alkmaar.
Can United actually pull this off and win all of these matches? Let’s just hope there is not a new Bournemouth…
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