Manchester United will move a giant step forwards to securing their place in next season's Champions League if they beat relegation-threatened Leeds United at Old Trafford on Monday night.
Man United have the chance to take advantage against Leeds as they remained in third position after all of their rivals played over the weekend, with their nearest competitors Aston Villa only able to draw 1-1 against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday.
While Liverpool did beat Fulham 2-0 after a run of three straight defeats in all competitions, Chelsea suffered their third successive Premier League loss following their 3-0 reverse against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
The Red Devils know that a top-five finish will be enough to see them return to the Champions League for the first time since they were eliminated in the old format group stages in 2023.
A win against Daniel Farke's men would see them move 10 points clear of Chelsea with half-a-dozen games remaining, which would leave them on the verge of securing a place in Europe's elite club competition again.
United should be confident of getting all three points against Leeds, who are without a league win since February 6.
Carrick Must Drop Amad for Leeds Visit
Michael Carrick
While Amad Diallo is clearly one of United's most exciting attacking players and continues to be a threat to Premier League defenders, the numbers simply haven't been there to back it up since he returned from AFCON.
The 23-year-old has made 10 Premier League appearances since returning from Morocco in January, starting eight of those games, but is without either a goal or an assist in that time.
The Ivory Coast international's numbers before Carrick's reign weren't especially impressive either, with two goals and three assists in 15 top flight games, but the caveat to that is that he often played as a wing-back in Ruben Amorim's three-at-the-back system.
Amad needs to improve on his numbers if he wants to remain part of United's XI for the rest of the season, and in the long-term, with Carrick needing to consider a change for the visit of Leeds.
Sesko Must be Unleashed Against Leeds
Benjamin Sesko
Carrick's preference during his successful caretaker spell charge at Old Trafford has been to use Bryan Mbeumo in the centre-forward role, with Amad and Matheus Cunha on the wings and Bruno Fernandes in the No.10 role.
It is a strategy that has worked well, with United picking up 23 points from a possible 30 available during Carrick's caretaker reign.
While Cunha and Fernandes combined for the Red Devils' opening goal in the draw against Bournemouth last time out, both Amad and Mbeumo have been less effective in recent weeks, with the latter going four matches without a goal or assist.
Meanwhile, Sesko has only started half of his 26 Premier League outings this term, but he has nine goals to show for it.
Five of those nine have come in his last nine appearances and while he is clearly thriving off of the substitutes' bench, a home game against Leeds seems like a great time to unleash him from the start as he looks to become a regular in the XI for next season.