Manchester United’s performance after the restart of the Premier League has been pretty impressive. A comfortable 3-0 victory over both Sheffield United and Brighton suggest that they are right on track to seal a Champions League birth next season.
Frenchman Anthony Martial scored Manchester United’s first Premier League hat-trick after 7 years as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men cruised past the Blades at Old Trafford.
This was Martial’s first senior hat-trick and the arrival of Bruno Fernandes has benefited him- in seven league games since the Portuguese arrived from Sporting Lisbon, Martial has scored six goals.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been impressed with his finishing – he has netted 19 goals this campaign, his best return in 5 years at Old Trafford. Then Fernandes himself got his name into the scoring charts as he netted a brace against Brighton to stay in the hunt for a top 4 finish. This was their first league victory at Brighton since 1982 and the manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, was all praises for his team’s performance at Brighton and Hove Albion.
With 52 points from 32 games, the Red Devils moved to the 5th spot, 2 points behind 4th placed Chelsea and ahead of the Wolves on goal difference.
With Manchester City out of the equation for a Champions League birth, a top 5 finish for the Red Devils would get them to the biggest football competition in Europe, although they would love a top 4 finish to avoid the controversies surrounding City’s exit.
According to the soccer betting odds, the odds of Manchester United making the top 4 stand at 1/2. Manchester United is the biggest club in the Premier League and arguably has the greatest influence on the betting odds. Majority of punters treat betting as a source of entertainment and nowadays, many first-time punters are joining in every month, setting aside any fears like match-fixing, drug use, or management problems that seem to have affected sports betting many decades ago. Safer Gambling capped with a responsible behaviour is followed and the new generation is mindful of this fact.
Liverpool have won the Premier League and have a Champions League birth waiting for them and Manchester City making the top 4 merely remains a formality, but things do not look too good for third placed Leicester City.
Leicester City, who have 55 points in 32 games, have won just four of their last 15 league games, which means that their struggle for making it into the Champions League is far from over. It would be a tight race between Chelsea, Leicester City, and United, but the chasing pack of Wolves and Spurs will still be hoping to overhaul them.
The Red Devils have struggled against teams who play compact and pack the defence, but with Bruno’s dynamism and Pogba’s new found inventiveness, they are ready and well-equipped for the final onslaught.
United will play relegation threatened Bournemouth at Old Trafford and this fixture will have a big impact on the top 4 standings.
