It has been four years since Manchester United won their last Premier League title and, no doubt, the fans are hungry for trophies. The club owners have pumped a lot of money into the squad over the last few transfer windows, but it remains to be seen if that is going to help the English giants regain the domestic trophy.

Manchester United kicked off the new Premier League in style, with the team recording a win in each of their opening three games of the season. However, the Red Devils suffered a heart-breaking loss to Manchester City in the local derby in September and, to make things even worse for the fans, Jose Mourinho’s men were totally outplayed by Watford at Vicarage Road Stadium on Matchday 5. Manchester United were struggling to find their form in October and November, with the team recording no more than one win in seven league games.

Top 4 chase is back on

However, the Red Devils managed to overcome the crisis and they have been impressive in the Premier League ever since they recorded a hard-fought 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on December 11. After registering six consecutive wins in the national championship, Manchester United shared the spoils (1-1) with Liverpool in the Premier League derby, but it has to be noted that the Old Trafford outfit failed to turn their dominance into more goals.

As things stand now, Manchester United have slim chances of winning the Premier League trophy, but a number of football predictions are pointing towards supporting the Red Devils to finish the season in top four. Jose Mourinho’s charges are only four points behind the Champions League positions and they are certainly capable of booking their place in the elite competition.

Still the team in the making

The team look quite solid at the back. First-choice goalkeeper David De Gea has conceded 20 goals in 21 league appearances to date and it is important to note that the Red Devils have the third best defence in the league. Tottenham Hotspur have conceded only 14 goals in the league so far this season, while league leaders Chelsea have conceded one goal more (15).

Jose Mourinho’s back-line seems to be in a perfect working order at the moment, but it remains to be seen whether summer signing Eric Bailly is going to be sorely missed in upcoming fixtures. The Ivory Coast defender in on international duty with his national team and he will return to the squad when the Elephants suffer elimination from the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

Big-money signing Paul Pogba was struggling to find his form at the start of the season, but the French midfielder has been making progress since and the former Juventus man is expected to play an important role in Jose Mourinho’s team in the remainder of the season. Ander Herrera has established himself as a first-team regular as well and the Spanish midfielder has already provided three assists for his teammates in the 2016/2017 Premier League campaign.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was struggling with injury at the start of the season, but he has been producing splendid performances with Manchester United ever since he returned to the starting line-up. The former Shakhtar Donetsk ace is likely to keep his place in Mourinho’s 4-2-3-1 formation in the remainder of the season and he is likely to prove a handful for opposition defenders in upcoming fixtures.

Despite being in the twilight of his career, experienced midfielder Michael Carrick is still capable of producing fine performances at this level and it is more than obvious that Jose Mourinho has faith in the 35-year-old footballer. “The Special One”, though, thinks about the future as well and, as a result, he decided to tie down 23-year-old winger Jesse Lingard. The England international has signed a new four-year deal with Manchester United worth £95,000 per week.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not getting any younger, but the Swedish veteran has been scoring goals for fun this season. The former PSG superstar helped Manchester United pick up one point from the Premier League derby against Liverpool and he has already netted 19 goals in all competitions so far this term. The most important thing for Zlatan is to avoid injuries in the remainder of the season.

Future prospects

Manchester United have already dropped 23 points in the English top flight this season and Jose Mourinho’s men need to keep on raising their form if they are to keep their hopes of winning the title alive. The Red Devils will take on Hull City, Watford, Bournemouth and WBA in next four home fixtures in the league and they need to pick up all 12 points from those encounters if they are to stay in the race for the domestic trophy. On the other hand, Jose Mourinho’s team will square off against Stoke City and Leicester City on the road before facing Pep Guardiola and his men in the Manchester derby.

The Old Trafford outfit face an easy fixture list in days to come and seeing that Jose Mourinho has almost full squad to choose from, it is no surprise a number of football predictions suggest that the Red Devils are going to finish the season in the top four. The Portuguese tactician should use FA Cup games to rest his first-team regulars, but playing on four fronts might prove to be a big catch for the team.

Manchester United are regarded as main favourites to win the League Cup and they are on the verge of reaching the final after a 2-0 win over Hull City at their Old Trafford. On the other hand, Jose Mourinho’s men are likely to eliminate Saint Etienne in the Europa League last 32, whilst the team face an easy task against Wigan Athletic in round 4 of the FA Cup. 

It is well known that Jose Mourinho wants to win everything, but it is more than obvious that the team’s main goal is to regain their place in the Champions League. Considering that the Red Devils have found their best form, our football predictions often go in Man Utd’s favour and we are positive that they are going to clinch their spot in the elite competition. 

Ignacio del Valle Ruiz, a true fan of football, is one of the founders of FootballPredictions.com. He also manages the content team behind the website, twitter and facebook. In his spare time he enjoys winning FIFA games.