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Manchester United defeated Fulham in the Premier League | Getty Images
Man United are in pole position to qualify for the Champions League, but how many points will they need to get over the line?
Michael Carrick must be wondering what all the fuss is about. When Roy Keane said that he shouldn’t get the Manchester United job on a permanent basis even if he won every game, it looks like he took it personally.
Four league wins in a row sees United in fourth place in the Premier League table and competing with Chelsea and Liverpool as they look to secure the riches that come with qualifying for the Champions League.
If United want to sign the best players to help them get back to challenging for the title, their job would be a lot easier if they had a seat at the top table once again. As things stand, Carrick is doing his chances of landing the job permanently no harm at all and has them heading in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go.
Man United face Champions League fight
United currently sit one point ahead of Chelsea with 44 points with Liam Rosenior overseeing a similar resurgence from the Stamford Bridge outfit on 43. Liverpool, after their defeat to Man City, are in sixth place on 39 points, but they are only three points ahead of Sunderland in ninth. Arne Slot is as much looking over his shoulder as he is looking up the table, regardless of what he might said about Liverpool’s Champions League chances.
It is a congested table in a season where almost every team in the league is capable of beating each other.
With no FA Cup or European football, United’s sole focus is on the Premier League.
This is what might give them the edge over Chelsea and Liverpool. They will both be distracted, in particular, by the Champions League, knowing that it is, for once, a wide-open tournament in which any of the teams who have qualified for the play-off and knockout places are capable of winning. Having a week to recover and prepare for most games leaves United with no excuses when facing teams who are still in Europe and the FA Cup.
How many points do Man United need to finish fourth?
Domestically, there are still 13 games left to go with all three clubs having played 25 games. This makes the respective fixture lists for United, Liverpool and Chelsea relatively even. What it also does, is make the maths a bit easier to work out in terms of how many points Carrick needs to secure fourth place and guarantee Champions League football for next season.
The maximum number of points that United can accrue is 89, however, according to Opta, based on their average form, goals scored and goals conceded, they are predicted to get 62.97 (63), with Chelsea predicted to get 63.95 (64). Liverpool, are predicted to get 61 and finish in sixth.
To get 65 points and finish above the predicted points of Chelsea, United need another 21 points which, in 13 games, doesn’t seem unrealistic. On paper, needing just seven wins still leaves room for points being dropped in nearly half of their games to achieve this total. Football though, isn’t played on paper and Carrick’s success could have implications far beyond qualifying for the Champions League, regardless of what Keane says.
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