Manchester United could still technically win the Premier League this seasonplaceholder image
Manchester United could still technically win the Premier League this season | Getty Images/Getty Images
Man Utd have won their first two matches under Michael Carrick and might dream of an unlikely Premier League title win.
After stunning victories over Man City and Arsenal, you can forgive Manchester United supporters for getting a little carried away about their prospects under Michael Carrick.
United will face an entirely different type of test when they welcome Fulham to Old Trafford this weekend, while upcoming clashes against Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and Everton are likely to tell us a lot more about how good the team really are.
What is clear though is that United have the ability to beat any team in the Premier League, and beat them well. Carrick's side will be full of confidence from the manner of their victory at the Emirates last weekend and supporters are now looking at how they might finish in the table, rather than how low they might drop. But could they actually win the title this season? Let's take a look....
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How many points would Manchester United need to win the Premier League this season
Manchester United currently sit 4th in the Premier League table with 38 points. It means they are already 12 points behind league leaders Arsenal and would need to make up that margin at the very least, while Aston Villa and Man City are also above them on 46 points each.
To calculate how many points United might need, we are going to use the latest Opta predicted final Premier League table to help us. Before we can even look at the results Michael Carrick's side require, we need to know the rough target for them to beat. Arsenal currently sit top on 50 points from 23 matches played and Opta predict they will finish the season as champions with 81 points. That's an additional 31 points from the 45 available.
So, if United are to somehow finish above them, they would need to take 43 points from the 45 available to them. That's 14 wins and one draw. A single defeat would end those hopes of winning the Premier League title based on the latest projected points table. It means United theoretically could still win the title this season if they are pretty much flawless, but then again, they weren't predicted to beat Man City and Arsenal in the first place either.
The good news is that a top-five finish should be enough for Champions League qualification this season, and United have proved over the last two matches that it is achievable. The bad news is, the Opta predicted table has them to finish 6th, behind both Chelsea and Liverpool, though that is based on data from the entire season and not their rejuvenated form under Carrick.
The latest Opta predicted final Premier League table
1 - Arsenal: 81 points
2 - Aston Villa: 73.08 points
3 - Man City: 71.95 points
4 - Chelsea: 61.84 points
5 - Liverpool: 61.58 points
6 - Man United: 60.09 points
7 - Newcastle: 54.66 points
8 - Fulham: 53.25 points
9 - Brentford: 52.91 points
10 - Brighton: 51.63 points
11 - Everton: 51.27 points
12 - Bournemouth: 50.67 points
13 - Sunderland: 49.71 points
14 - Tottenham: 47.61 points
15 - Crystal Palace: 47.15 points
16 - Nottingham Forest: 43.43 points
17 - Leeds: 43.36 points
18 - West Ham: 34.74 points
19 - Burnley: 28.97 points
20 - Wolves: 21.69 points
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