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Manchester United were defeated by Everton in the Premier League | Manchester United via Getty Images
Manchester United find themselves in the race for the top four despite a shock 1-0 loss to Everton on Monday night
Former Arsenal player Alan Smith has backed Manchester United to finish in the top four this season based on what he has seen from the club’s first 12 games.
The Red Devils have picked up 18 points and sat 10th in the table after all sides had played 12 matches. There is just three points between Aston Villa in fourth and Liverpool in 12th in what looks to be hotly-contested race for the top four.
Up next for Ruben Amorim’s side is an away trip to Crystal Palace, who sit two points above them ahead of the contest. United had gone unbeaten in five games before a shock 1-0 loss to 10-man Everton.
They are winless in three matches but Smith thinks he has seen enough for them to finish in the top four. There will be plenty of clubs vying for the Champions League spots - and it will be about United maintaining as much consistency as possible.
Smith, speaking exclusively to Manchester World via www.online-casinos.com “Yeah, I think I've seen enough that they should get in the top four
“I think United do find ways of scuppering their own progress, and you hope it’s just one of those sorts of games against Everton, do you know what I mean? Write it off, and just get back to it.
“After an international break, I feel like there's always a few results that are always a little bit his and miss, and going down to 10 men I don't want to say suited Everton, but it suited them to a certain extent. There was no expectation either for them, it was like anything was a bonus. David Moyes would have got in there looking desperate to win as well.”
Smith felt that United missed the prescene of summer signing Matheus Cunha against Everton. The former Wolves man was injured in training and he will not be back when the Red Devils travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.
The Toffees played the majority of the game with 10 men at Old Trafford but still came out on top on Monday night.
Smith continued: “I think Cunha’s obviously a big miss for United, just his quality, because of the way they’ve been playing, the goals they've scored and the momentum.
“It's just one of those, the goals they've conceded, they're too exposed, there's still that inconsistency, but I think everyone can see sprouts of either getting used to it, or they're getting better. It’s not as problematic, the murmurings don’t seem to be that Amorim has to win or he’s gone. You don’t want to get to a point either where it just becomes acceptable either.”
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