Premier League
Manchester United to Easily Qualify for UCL
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has transformed the mood at Old Trafford. That is without question. Manchester United will comfortably qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season by finishing in fourth place. Since OGS took over after Mourinho’s departure, the team has hardly put a foot wrong. The one blemish would be the 2-2 draw with Burnley. Even then, United scored two late goals like the Manchester United teams did in the Fergie Era. Manchester United will qualify for the Champions League with at least three points over either fifth placed Chelsea or Arsenal.
Player Transformation
Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, and Anthony Martial have all been absolutely superb under Solskjaer. It was no secret that Pogba did not get along with Jose Mourinho. He was misused greatly and only showed small glimpses of his talent in the United midfield. Rashford has been magnificent as the center forward under OGS. This is a great reminder that he should be starting centrally every week. Martial has gone from a player who did not look up to the level of Manchester United to being one of the first names on the team sheet. The fact that Solskjaer has not only been able to stabilize the club, but also get them on an incredible run just shows how bad things were under Mourinho.
Competition
Liverpool, Manchester City, and Tottenham seem like a shoe-in for the top 3 spots this season. Third place Spurs have a seven point lead over fourth place Chelsea. It is a three horse race between United, Chelsea, and Arsenal for the final Champions League spot.
Chelsea
“Sarri Ball” has not been nearly as good as we expected. Even though Chelsea were unbeaten through nine league games, things have fallen off quite a bit. Alvaro Morata has left the club while Higuain has come in to replace him. Fans and media alike are not impressed with Maurizio Sarri’s lack of a “Plan B.” When asked about this, he said that he wanted his “Plan A” to be perfected before adding any other ideas. This is an awful way to manage a poorly performing side. The 4-0 loss to Bournemouth was a crushing result and showed just how far they have to go.
Arsenal
The Gunners have shown they can beat big teams with wins against Spurs and Chelsea this season, but have also faulted against smaller clubs. They have suffered defeats to West Ham and Southampton and only taken a point away from Brighton and Palace. Their inconsistency has stemmed from the high number of injuries their players have suffered. Three long-term injuries to Welbeck, Holding, and Bellerin have drastically changed their plans for the season. Right back is going to be their biggest whole for the remainder of the season. They can choose between Lichtsteiner, Jenkinson, or Maitland-Niles to play at that spot. None of whom have looked entirely confident. This paired with Mustafi in central defense is a huge burden. Unai Emery has it all to do to make the top four.
Conclusion
In the league under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United have scored 20 goals and conceded six while picking up 22 of a possible 24 points. Three of their next four matches are very winnable against Fulham, Palace, and Southampton. The other one is a big North West Derby against Liverpool at Old Trafford. If they take any sort of points away from that, they will continue to climb the table with ease.
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