MANCHESTER UNITED PIVOTAL SITUATIONS THAT MIGHT AFFECT THE OUTCOME OF THE CURRENT SEASON
Sunday, December 1, 2019, will be written down in the record books as just a very important game in Manchester United's 2019/20 season was Ole Gunner Solskjaer guided the Manchester United team into victory in a match against a competitive opponent in the shape of a difficult West Ham team.
The Hammers gave Manchester United a run for their money in an intence 90 plus minutes of a very competitive game were for the majority of the match the victory was up for grabs depending on which team was able to outscore the other team on the night. The majority of the match was strictly touched and go as both Red Devils fans and Hammers fans waited to see which team would claim victory on the night. Manchester United's' resolve was strongly tested but after the final whistle, the Red Devils were victoriously boosted by the return of one of Manchester United's most influential players Paul Pogba as Manchester United find themselves edging closer to a place in one of the top 4 spots of the Premier League table.
Manchester United opponents this weekend has definitely not had the best season in the current 2019/20 campaign. Led by English manager Dean Smith, the season so far for the Cleret and Blues stands at being labeled a season to forget for Aston Villa. Sitting at 17th position, one spot and 3 points above the drop zone of the Premier League, a victory for Manchester United might just push Aston Villa straight into relegation battle depending on if other results this weekend will favor Aston Villa or work out against manager Dean Smith team. The picture of this weekend's matches clearly paints the picture of two teams in the hunt for points with a loss not acceptable for either side.
While Manchester United will be expected to walk out on to the Old Trafford pitch this weekend with a strong team especially with star quadruple of Antony Martial, Daniel James, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba (expected to return to action after ankle injury) Manchester United must remember not to let their guard down this weekend especially against such a dogged West Ham United side. Will this be the case for Manchester United tomorrow evening after this weekend's match? Well that will be the desired outcome statisticians will expect but the English Premier League is a special brand that plays by its own set of rules and the first rule of the Premier League is no team should be taken for granted.
Sitting at 17th spot, just three points above the drop zone of the Premier League table will place manager Dean Smith's Aston Villa side as the automatic second favorites to come out of this weekend's match at Old Trafford victorious. However, considering the lengthy injury list Manchester United is currently facing within Ole Gunner Solskjaers 23-man squad Aston Villa chances of taking at least a point from Manchester United when both clubs meet this weekend must not be completely written off as an impossible outcome during the entire 90 minutes of this weekend's match. The presence of players such as Jack Grealish and Douglas Luiz gives this Aston Villa team the potential to pose some level of threat against Manchester United come kick off this Sunday. With Manchester United set to play out the rest of the month of November all the way up to at least the second week of the month of December with a number of players out of action due to various injuries, victory against Aston Villa this weekend is not quite in the bag for Ole Gunner Solskjaer and his team.
While the news concerning Manchester United heading into this weekends match against Aston Villa continue to hint at the possibility of injured Paul Pogba and Scott McTominar making their return from injury for Manchester United, Ole Gunner Solskjaers recent comment via Friday evenings press on October 22 has once again ruled out the possibility of Paul Pogba returning to action this weekend. While some supporters of Manchester United football club continue to push the idea that the current longevity of Paul Pogbas’ injury might be a smokescreen used by the French midfielder to strengthen the possibility of a move away from Manchester United in January 2020, some other information making its way to the media also suggests that the French midfielder is very content with his life Old Trafford. Returning back to the topic of this weekends match against Aston Villa, the reality of Manchester United coming into this weekends match without key players does not seize to exist but the injury situation Manchester United is currently faced with does not take away the fact that tonights match against a struggling Aston Villa is an opportunity to secure three points. An opportunity which Manchester United frankly cannot afford to waste with the mid-season scheduled for the end of December 2019.
With or without two of Manchester United's most influential midfielders in Paul Pogba and Scott McTominar available for this weekend's action against “The Villans”, Solskjaers side should have enough quality in the tank to secure all three points against a team currently battling relegation. With the news of Manchester United possibly considering Mauricio Pocchetino, who was recently relieved of his duty as Tottenham manager, as the future successor of Ole Gunner Solskjaer next season, the news coming from the Manchester United board of directors insists Manchester United will not be transitioning from the clubs current manager to a new manager any time soon.
Ole Gunner Solskjaer has clearly been handed more time to build on the impressive progress the manager has made to Manchester United so far but how long Manchester United's patience for a top 4 claim in the Premier League table is yet to be determined.