Manchester United are locked in a three-way battle for Champions League football this season. With March likely to be a crucial month in determining who will secure their place in UEFA’s top-tier club competition., the pressure is on Erik ten Hag and his players.
The United boss has already had to deal with discussion about his future this week. The Manchester Evening News reported how new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has yet to be convinced that the Dutchman is the man to take the team forward.
A strong finish to the season is desperately needed for Ten Hag. Finishing outside the top five may not be enough to keep him in a job, with INEOS assessing other managerial options. However, Ten Hag could receive a huge boost in his bid for Champions League qualification from an unlikely source.
The two sides challenging United for a spot in the competition next season are Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur. Unai Emery’s Villa side currently have an eight-point cushion on United inside the top five and a fifth place finish is likely to be enough to qualify for the Champions League this term. Spurs are three points ahead of United, and have played a game fewer. With Spurs heading to Villa Park on Sunday, March 10, the race is hotting up.
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But there’s more. The recent decision by the Premier League to change points deductions could also affect things. Last year, Everton lost 10 points for breaking Profitability and Sustainability Rules. The club wasn’t happy, so they tried to get the decision changed and everyone was waiting to see what would happen.
On Monday, an independent appeal board said that Everton wouldn’t lose as many points after all. Instead of 10, it will be six.
The Premier League said: “Everton FC appealed the sanction imposed against it on nine grounds, each of which related to the sanction rather than the fact of the breach, which the club admitted. Two of those nine grounds were upheld by the Appeal Board, which has substituted the original points deduction of 10 for six. This revised sanction has immediate effect and the Premier League table will be updated today to reflect this.”
So how does that affect the Champions League places? Well, Nottingham Forest are now in 17th place after the latest games. Everton have moved up over them and Brentford to 15th place. Previously, Luton were only one point behind Everton in the table. But now, with Sean Dyche’s team pulling away by five points, Luton will be even more determined to secure every point they can.
Luton host Villa this weekend with a Saturday teatime kick-off slot. United managed to win at Kenilworth Road earlier this month despite an unconvincing performance against Rob Edwards’ side, who have also given Arsenal and Manchester City tough tests at home this term, despite only picking up 11 points in front of their own fans, winning three, drawing two and losing eight times.
However, now that the Hatters have an ever greater incentive to win points after Everton climbed the table, this could come as a boost for United, who are waiting for Villa to drop points.
Villa are set to face Tottenham after that, meaning United will then have an opportunity to close the gap to at least one of those teams the following weekend, but they have a big task ahead on Sunday as they face City at the Etihad Stadium in the Manchester derby. Pep Guardiola’s men go into the game as firm favourites.
Then, of course, United host Everton at Old Trafford on Saturday March 9th. How the Toffees will react to their good news on the deduction front will be seen in coming weeks, though they do still have the possibility of an additional deduction hanging over them.
United then travel to Brentford at the end of the month and the Bees will be desperate to claw themselves back above Everton and away from the drop zone. There promises to be a number of twists and turns between now and the end of the season at both ends of the table.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
