Thomas Hein
With the team preparing for tougher matches ahead in the Premier League, the form is so far great. Rasmus Hojlund is close to coming back from his recovery and the team is in good form. There are various challenges ahead and we’re going to try our best to analyse the forms, stats, players, and overall performance to come up with reliable predictions.
Let’s look at what to expect in the upcoming Premier League season.
Current Form
So far, United has won its home game against the Wolverhampton Wanderers with a 1-2 score (August 14) and lost its away game against Tottenham Hotspur with a 0-2 score (August 19). This puts the team at the #12 position behind Nottingham Forest and Newcastle.
Though there is much to discern from their recent games, we’re also sure that justifying any win or loss at this point is not going to be very dependable. At least, we need to wait for games that are lined up—Arsenal, most notably.
Tottenham scored both their goals in the second half (49’ and 83’ by Pape Matar Sarr and Ben Davies, respectively) and there were many attempts overall that United’s defence protected against quite well.
For the match against the Wanderers, Raphael Varane ended up scoring the only goal in the game at 76’ while Luke Shaw was cautioned at 44’.
Outlook
Looking through a strictly performance-oriented lens, it’s sure that the team has a long way to go, especially in terms of offence. But there have also been remarkable improvements in the team that have led us to believe that the standings will change in favour of United sooner than later.
We’re also going to look at some stats from the historical data as well as third-party score aggregators to compare the team with others.
For example, a quick glance at reliable sports betting Canada platforms like Bodog reveals that the team is favoured quite well for the UEFA Champions League scheduled for February 2024. What’s most significant is that it has better odds than teams like PSG, Newcastle, Napoli, and Inter Milan. Though the favourites are Man City, Munich, Real Madrid, Arsenal, and Barcelona, the Red Devils are sitting at a comfortable #6 position, which isn’t bad at all.
But we’re not interested in the UEFA Champion too much right now. It’s true that it’s the championship that everything else ties into and that the team has to think about it starting now if they wish to have any measurable impact—It’s also marred with a little unpredictability at this point.
Back to the Premier League, we see the team with some noticeable stats. First of all, the defence is going to work against some clubs that used to be common threats to the team including Nottingham Forest.
The biggest problem, at least right now, can be Arsenal. Arsenal is in particularly good form and has a well-rounded team so far. The same can be said for Manchester City, which is set with odds of -675 against Fulham at +1400 for their game in the coming time.
We’re not too sure about Newcastle. It can go either way. They can be formidable opponents putting roadblocks in the path or they could be another team that’s not threatening enough anymore.
But the majority of it depends on how well the team comes together and what United does about the offence, which it clearly lacks.
Talking about lacks, we also have many sellable assets still playing at the club. Trade is still something the team is poor at. To this date, the club is struggling to properly sell its assets.
To put things in perspective, take the example of Brandon Williams. All the team could do was get a loan for a season with Ipswich Town for Williams who has only played 10 minutes for United in the last 2 years.
With talented academy footballers fetching six-figure fees and the whole Saudi Arabia-based Alex Telles thing, a good market still eludes United.
What makes things worse is the team keeps its players, often on very high fees, even when not using them. A good example would be Harry Maguire (£80m four years ago with inflated wages as well).
McTominay and Henderson also fall in the same basket, more or less.
This inefficiency creates some valid questions. Are the United really poised to have the budget for better players that can potentially improve its offence? Or are we just going to hope against hope, once more, that someone somehow carries the team to win after a win while the club keeps losing money left, right, and centre? Well, only time will tell.
Wrapping Up
We can’t predict all of football, naturally. For example, the Luke Shaw injury was something that changed the dynamics of the game as now United is in the market once more for a key position. Injuries are just one of the things that can influence how the team’s performance pans out over time.
