Manchester United have performed well after international breaks this season.
Manchester United will relish the opportunity for some much needed rest via the international break, and it might just propel them to a top four run.
The Red Devils have performed well thus far this season immediately following breaks from Premier League play. In September’s international period, after losing to Swansea to finish August, Manchester United went on to win five of six matches in the month, including victories over Liverpool and Wolfsburg.
Then, following the break in October that began after a discouraging 3-0 loss to Arsenal, the club returned with an 11 match unbeaten streak, started by a win against Everton. Coincidentally, the same opposition that Louis van Gaal’s team will face at the conclusion of this month’s international break.
Of course, the team is clearly in a different position at the start of this break. Back in the previous calendar year, expectations were much higher for Manchester United – progress out of the group stage of the Champions League and contend for the Premier League crown. At this point, supporters and the manager would settle for a top four finish and would rejoice with an FA Cup title.
More from Red Devil Armada
- Aaron Wan Bissaka out for ‘several weeks’ with injury
- Manchester United break an unwanted record after Brighton loss
- Sofyan Amrabat set to miss game against Brighton
- Preview: Manchester United vs Brighton – What you need to know
- Jadon Sancho set to train away from first team squad
The squad is also full of entirely new faces. Guillermo Varela, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, and Daley Blind have all cemented their positions as favorites to start each weekend. In United’s victory over Everton in October, Phil Jones started ahead of Blind in defense, Lingard started on the bench and replaced Juan Mata late in the match, while neither Varela’s nor Rashford’s names were known to anyone other than followers of the academy and reserves teams.
But regardless of the differences, van Gaal and the squad will be hoping for similar results when they return to action on April 3rd. With their win over Manchester City, the Red Devils moved to just one point back of the top four, though they currently sit in sixth based on goal differential. A run of consecutive victories, or at least an extended unbeaten run, would surely see Manchester United back in the Champions League next season.
More from Manchester United News
- Aaron Wan Bissaka out for ‘several weeks’ with injury
- Sofyan Amrabat set to miss game against Brighton
- Preview: Manchester United vs Brighton – What you need to know
- Jadon Sancho set to train away from first team squad
- Mike Phelan blasts Manchester United teammates over Ronaldo exit
After the break and the Everton match, United will face Tottenham (currently 2nd, title contender), Aston Villa (currently 20th, nearly a sure thing to be relegated), and Crystal Palace (currently 16th, who knows what they will have to play for come the end of April). Of those four games, the home match against Palace seems the most dangerous given van Gaal’s struggles against defensively shaped teams. But still, they should all be considered winnable.
Which means Manchester United has the opportunity to secure 12 relatively easy points in April, assuming there are no further setbacks in terms of injuries while on international duty.
Speaking after the victory in the Manchester Derby, Michael Carrick explained his intentions for the break, “I have a few days off now so I will go and have a rest, have a break, take the family away, which will be nice, and come back for the run-in.” Though the midfielder is somewhat of an anomaly because of his absence from international play, the general trend will be for the United players to rest as much as possible.
Next: United 1-0 City: Key Stats
All that is to say that the rest will do the team well, and the exit from the Europa League will enhance that effect once club competition resumes. With a thinner schedule and two weeks of respite from League play, Manchester United could be poised to make a late push for the top four.