Will Manchester United mount a Premier League title challenge?
Manchester United have found themselves in a state of flux in trying to prise Jadon Sancho away from Borussia Dortmund but the focus must now turn to making a winning start to the new Premier League season.
Crystal Palace are the visitors to Old Trafford this Saturday, live on Sky Sports, and United stand on the cusp of a new campaign with a renewed and realistic sense of optimism that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can take them to the next level.
But his side remain suspect defensively and vulnerable to pace on the break, meaning even greater reliance will be placed on a dynamic attack. That said, an encouraging finish to the 2019/20 Premier League campaign has built stable foundations as United aim to close the gap on the champions of the previous two seasons.
Gary Neville believes his former club need to put themselves in a position to pounce when Liverpool and Manchester City come to the natural end of their current cycle as the Premier League’s two dominant forces.
He told Sky Sports: „I think Manchester United are in a similar position to Chelsea. They’ve got to make progression from last season, and I don’t have that expectation as a United fan that they’re going to break that top two this season.
„I don’t feel they’re quite ready but they have to make sure that gap is smaller. The have to make sure they close the gap on the top two and make sure they’re progressing.
„A striker, a right winger and a centre-half is a must. At some point in the next couple of years, Manchester United and Chelsea need to be ready to strike when Manchester City and Liverpool drop below that standard. That’s probably going to be when Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp leave.“
Richards: ‘United still far off Liverpool and City’
United finished in third last season, still some 15 points behind their rivals City and a staggering 33 points behind the champions Liverpool.
Despite being strongly linked with moves for Jadon Sancho and Gareth Bale, the £39m arrival of Donny van de Beek remains their only piece of summer business ahead of their opening Premier League game with Crystal Palace, live on Sky Sports.
Sky Sports’ Micah Richards added: „I don’t think United have strengthened enough at present to challenge for the title next season. I think the arrival of Donny van de Beek improves them, but when you look at Manchester City and Liverpool their cohesion is infinitely better than United’s still.
„When you get new players, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be a great team overnight. When you look at what Jurgen Klopp has done… he arrived at Liverpool five years ago, and it took him time to reach the heights.
„I think they’ll be massively improved and they’ve got more strength in depth, but I still think they’ll be far off Liverpool and Manchester City.“
Will De Gea start in goal?
The debate rumbles on as to who will be United’s No 1 this season.
After a host of high-profile errors in 2019/20, Dean Henderson’s return to Old Trafford after two successful seasons on loan at Sheffield United has plunged incumbent David de Gea’s position into doubt.
Gary Neville is adamant that De Gea will start the campaign, but warned the ongoing goalkeeping situation could represent a genuine threat to the club’s ambitions this season.
„We’re already talking about who will be the United No 1,“ he told Sky Sports. „I personally do think David de Gea will be and the big thing at the moment for Dean Henderson is that he’s unproven at Manchester United’s level. He’s going to come under scrutiny more than ever before.
„Every time David de Gea does something wrong, there’s going to be that question asked about whether Dean Henderson is going to come in. What we’re about to find out is the deal Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done with Henderson and De Gea. What has he said to them both to accept that they’re going to challenge?
„Is it a straight challenge where they’re both going to be given an equal opportunity? Is it that Henderson’s coming back as No 2 and he’s going to play in the cups? Has David de Gea been told he’s got one more season, Dean’s going to watch him and then next season he’s going to be in?
„Something’s going to have to give at some point as Henderson will leave if he doesn’t get in.“
Sixty-three per cent of Sky Sports viewers believe Henderson should be the new United No 1, according to a recent poll.
„I think it’s a good situation for Solskjaer because this gives him 12 months to look at Dean Henderson,“ Jamie Carragher added.
„Is Henderson good enough for Manchester United? I’m not quite sure. I think in 12 months’ time United could sell the two of them and buy a world-class goalkeeper.“
Jamie Redknapp fears Solskjaer is on a hiding to nothing whichever option he takes.
He told Sky Sports: „This is a nightmare situation for Solskjaer. If he goes with David de Gea as his No 1, the first mistake he makes, everyone will be clambering to get Henderson into the team.
„I don’t think it’ll be healthy. Most of the clubs in the Premier League you know their No 1 goalkeeper, but with the start of the season approaching, we don’t know who it is at Manchester United.“
Is the defence good enough?
During the club’s 19-game unbeaten run either side of last season’s lockdown, Solskjaer found a degree of consistency around his preferred defence with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof and captain Harry Maguire becoming mainstays of the team in front of De Gea.
But that run wasn’t without its defensive hiccups with Bournemouth scoring twice during the 5-2 victory preceding the 2-2 home draw with Southampton. By the time Chelsea deservedly inflicted a 3-1 defeat in the FA Cup semi-finals, there was the sense a bad result had been coming.
Sevilla’s come-from-behind victory in the Europa League last four further underlined the improvement needed defensively if United are to stage an assault for silverware on multiple fronts – but they are yet to bring in any reinforcements.
Solskjaer has quantity over quality in this department; Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and Axel Tuanzebe remain on the club’s books.
Will Fernandes, Van de Beek and Pogba gel in midfield?
United were meandering towards a mediocre finish when Bruno Fernandes arrived in January. The Portuguese proved the catalyst for change and upped the standards of those around him.
Paul Pogba’s continued absence at the start of the year left question marks over how the pair would gel once the Frenchman returned but it turned out good players tend to play well alongside one another.
That will be the expectation once more now that Donny van de Beek has arrived. Solskjaer was reluctant to tinker with his back line and forward three, meaning he may well already have his first-choice XI in mind with these three controlling the midfield.
The bare minimum this season must be to replicate last season’s third-place finish while a far greater title challenge will be demanded by supporters.
The Dutchman will provide extra creativity and Fernandes will be targeting a repeat performance after his 12 goals in just half a season.
Then, there is Pogba. You are never quite sure what you’re going to get but if the Frenchman can bring his World Cup-winning consistency to United, they will be a match for any side.
Who would be the perfect Sancho alternative?
United will want to improve in front of goal, having scored fewer goals than Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Leicester last season, while ranking eighth for creating big chances.
Solskjaer likes his wide men to break through lines, but the stats also suggest there could be scope for his team to press opponents further up the pitch.
United are not giving up on signing Sancho, but as it stands they are yet to have agreed a transfer fee, agent fees or personal terms with the player.
A loan move for Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale might have been the perfect alternative to the England winger, but he is heading for a sensational return to Tottenham.
Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth told The Transfer Show: „Was there an interest in signing Bale? Yes. But we’re told there have been no credible negotiations or dialogue between the two parties which begs the question why there hasn’t been.
„There was a widely understood belief that Bale wanted to go back to Tottenham and that feeling has since been confirmed by his agent Jonathan Barnett. Signing Bale would have gone against their rebuilding process and their wage structure.
„Yes, United are looking at alternatives to Sancho – we’ve spoken about Ivan Perisic, Douglas Costa and even Kingsley Coman but they would never command the same sort of wages that Bale would command.“
Will the front three rival Liverpool’s?
Will Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood eclipse the number of goals scored by Liverpool’s potent trio once more?
United’s promising attacking unit scored 62 goals between them in the 2019/20 campaign – six more than the collective total achieved by Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.
United played 61 games last season compared to Liverpool’s 57 with many of those coming in the Europa League against inferior opposition so it will be a greater challenge to outscore their rivals this time around with Champions League football back at Old Trafford.
It should also be noted that United were awarded 14 penalties in 2019/20, the most a team has ever won in a single campaign in the competition, so reaching such a high tally of spot-kicks again is unlikely.
Soccer Accumulator Bonus
Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.
This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.
The maximum bonus that you can receive is ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.
If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:
Bet Type Bonus
14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.
If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.
If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.
Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.
In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.
All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.
.
