Manchester United head into the weekend three points outside of the top four before they host relegation placed Watford at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Fourth place Chelsea are at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday lunchtime, which ensures United would gain ground on at least one of the two sides above them with victory.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side made an impressive signing at the end of January when they announced the capture of Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Club of Portugal. The Euro 2016 winner had been on their target list for over a year.

The attacking midfielder put in a man of the match performance on his debut in drawing 0-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers at the start of the month. He then provided the corner from which Harry Maguire scored in Monday night’s 2-0 win over Chelsea.

Fernandes was rested during Thursday’s trip to Club Brugge in the Europa League, presumably with this weekend’s match in mind.

Manchester United currently sit in a strong position to finish in the top four, but their upcoming fixtures are Sunday after tough. Following Watford, they have the second leg of their Europa League tie on Thursday, followed by a trip to Everton in the Premier League, Derby away on a Thursday night in the FA Cup, the Manchester derby at Old Trafford three days later, and then Tottenham Hotspur away.

Many may say there’s more chance of winning the Michigan lottery than there is in correctly predicting the top half finish of the 2019-20 Premier League season. But you could also argue it’s in Manchester United’s own hands. Though you can be assured they would prefer a much easier schedule than this up until mid-March.

Bruno Fernandes will certainly play a key role in that if United are indeed to qualify for next season’s Champions League. With Paul Pogba’s career seemingly over at Old Trafford, the Portuguese star has been inserted into the number 10 role and the club’s key playmaker.

As he showed at Sporting, he is both a creator and goalscorer. It’s just a matter of time before he gets off the mark for his new club, and don’t be surprised if that comes as early s this weekend.

Bruno Fernandes is a talented player and he’s already showed glimpses of that in his first two Premier League outings. Expect the big money signing to feel more comfortable with the more playing time he has under his belt in England. There are some nice odds on the player scoring against Watford on Sunday, which can be backed risk free by using a Draftkings promo code. Regardless of who gets on the scoresheet for United, victory is vital if they’re to finish in the top four this season.

However, fourth place may not represent the final Champions League place this season. With Manchester City facing a potential two-year ban from the competition, it’s possible that finishing fifth this season could qualify for next season’s Champions League.

The FA have yet to announce anything though, and that’s probably because the reigning Premier League champions are going to the court of sports arbitration to challenge their punishment recently handed out by UEFA. We could have to wait a while for the results.

Therefore, Manchester United and co will be aiming for fourth spot between now and May. For United to be in contention one thinks they have to pick up the three points against Watford this weekend.