Top 4 race 2016/17

No update after last night. Now 7, 7, 6 and 3 points behind the 4 teams above us (not including Chelsea).

Feel much better with those point gaps as opposed to what it was (ranging between 6 from Spurs to 10 from the other) and knowing any of those teams can have a bad run.

We need to keep winning our games and it will look even more better in about 3/4 weeks time.
 
I wonder what's a best case scenario for the Arsenal /City match in regards for us if we win vs west brom. probably a draw
 
Huge win yesterday, even if we could "only" gain three points on Arsenal. Winning at West Brom on Saturday would be absolutely immense, as it would set us up nicely with two home games coming up against Sunderland and Middlesbrough. Over the course of the next three rounds Everton host Liverpool, Spurs go to Southampton, City play Arsenal on Sunday, Liverpool play City at Anfield and Tottenham also need to go to Watford. I think we could be right back in the mix (= within 1-3 points) if we manage to win our next three games.
If we could gain three on Arsenal (they've got City away and two home bankers in West Brom and Crystal Palace), 4-6 on Tottenham (Southampton, Watford away, Burnley at home) and not lose any ground on Liverpool (reckon they will beat City at Anfield and Everton away – and easily go past Stoke at home) we'd have done well. Depending on our result at the Hawthorns we could also be closer to City come the end of the year (Arsenal at home, Hull away, Liverpool away).
Can't believe I'm slightly optimistic again after all those feck-ups at home.
 
Win at West Brom and a draw City/Arsenal & Liverpool drop points at Everton would be perfect.

Sunderland and Boro at home over Christmas are both very winnable, we could have the gap to within 3 points on a team or two if everything goes right by new year.
 
Moving thread from United forum to football forum seems to have given us a bit of luck. First time we've won two consecutive league games since August.

West Brom away is the toughie. Win that and I think we'll win both Sunderland and Middlesbrough which'll put us in a decent position.
 
Damien said:
Moving thread from United forum to football forum seems to have given us a bit of luck. First time we've won two consecutive league games since August.

West Brom away is the toughie. Win that and I think we'll win both Sunderland and Middlesbrough which'll put us in a decent position.
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City play Arsenal and Liverpool in remaining 3 rounds till end of year. If we win our remaining 3, at half way stage we would have reduced gap further on 4th at least and possibly on 2nd and 3rd too.
 
I think you need to start scoring more goals. The current top four have managed at least 34 goals whereas United are down in 22. If you beat West Brom I definitely think you'll beat Boro and Sunderland, which will be five wins in a row.

If Chelsea drop a couple of points in the next few weeks it could all start to look quite tight with the top six.
 
Damien said:
Moving thread from United forum to football forum seems to have given us a bit of luck. First time we've won two consecutive league games since August.

West Brom away is the toughie. Win that and I think we'll win both Sunderland and Middlesbrough which'll put us in a decent position.
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Win at West Brom and my week leading up to Xmas will be great.
 
Klopper76 said:
I think you need to start scoring more goals. The current top four have managed at least 34 goals whereas United are down in 22. If you beat West Brom I definitely think you'll beat Boro and Sunderland, which will be five wins in a row.

If Chelsea drop a couple of points in the next few weeks it could all start to look quite tight with the top six.
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Yep. In terms of the stats its been very simple for us this season. On chance creation we're up there at the top, ahead of the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, only significantly behind yourselves and City. But as you say we're well behind on goals. We need to put away more of the chances we're creating.
 
Difficult to predict who is gonna finish in the first 4 positions. Everything can change quickly. Even Chelsea lose one game and are back in the mix.
 
Perfect scenario for us (And probably chelsea but dont really think we or anyone will catch them) if we win-
Liverpool lose
City arsenal draw
That puts us 5 behind 2nd, 4 behind 3rd and fourth.
Next week liverpool play city and we could really pinch the gap. Winning next 3/3 is very very important for us to put pressure and give the team a solid base to move forward.
 
Brightonian said:
Yep. In terms of the stats its been very simple for us this season. On chance creation we're up there at the top, ahead of the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, only significantly behind yourselves and City. But as you say we're well behind on goals. We need to put away more of the chances we're creating.
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I've watched some of your games over the last couple of months and you've been playing well. Even the 4-0 at Chelsea was far from being one sided despite the score suggesting otherwise. If you add goals then you'll be as good as anyone.

There's a long way to go and a lot of points to play for as far as the top six are concerned.
 
Fck me I've just seen we're playing City in an evening kick off then a day and a half later its Sunderland away. Not even two days. Mane won't be around either and Coutinho won't be ready. We need to make sure we're just about still in the top four by the end of this phase. Once we're over January (and Mane returns) it should start looking rosier.
 
The only two sides I just cannot see falling out of the top are ourselves and Liverpool.
 
I am not going to get ahead of myself, because we've seen many 'turning points' turn out to be false dawns.

Still, if we win our next three games that will mean we have won 10, drawn six, and lost three in the first half of the season.

In the second half of the season, if we turn half of those draws into wins, and get the same results elsewhere, we will win 13, draw 3 and lose 3.

That would total 23 wins, nine draws and six losses: 78 points. 78 points has been enough to get into the top four for the last two seasons.

In this scenario, turning just one loss into a win, would see United finish the season with 81 points. Leicester won the title with 81 points last season, and no team that has finished with over 80 points in the Premier League has ever finished outside of the top four.

I recognise there are a lot of ifs, buts and maybes in there. It does show that we are not as far behind as many would have you believe. Especially when you think that the draws with Stoke, Burnley, Arsenal, West Ham and Everton might easily have been wins.

There is an argument that if we can get right mentally, and not start panicking at the prospect of drawing once we go ahead, after Xmas we could actually do much better than we did beforehand.
 
Dumbstar said:
Fck me I've just seen we're playing City in an evening kick off then a day and a half later its Sunderland away. Not even two days. Mane won't be around either and Coutinho won't be ready. We need to make sure we're just about still in the top four by the end of this phase. Once we're over January (and Mane returns) it should start looking rosier.
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You guys have top 4 locked up, i reckon.
 
Our best hope is that, the City squad completely down tools and we catch Spurs. City have shown in recent years that, when they are on a bad run, it's really bad. Let's hope that trend continues.
 
Dumbstar said:
Fck me I've just seen we're playing City in an evening kick off then a day and a half later its Sunderland away. Not even two days. Mane won't be around either and Coutinho won't be ready. We need to make sure we're just about still in the top four by the end of this phase. Once we're over January (and Mane returns) it should start looking rosier.
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Mane won't go until after Sunderland will he? The ACON starts on the 15th I thought. Coutinho is targeting City as his return date. It'd be great to get him on the bench for that one, starting at Sunderland.
 
With Mikhi back in the team, together with Pogba and Zlatan I feel confident we can win against anyone.
 
Klopper76 said:
Mane won't go until after Sunderland will he? The ACON starts on the 15th I thought. Coutinho is targeting City as his return date. It'd be great to get him on the bench for that one, starting at Sunderland.
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Starts on the 14th Jan apparently but players may go at least 7 days in advance. So hopefully we'll be allowed to keep Mane for Sunderland, which slightly eases my worries. Firmino needs to rediscover his form and Coutinho really needs to get match sharpness quickly. Personally, I think we should sign Dembele, Pulisic or Adama Traore on the first day of January. We have held back funds for this kind of calculated risk.
 
Dumbstar said:
Starts on the 14th Jan apparently but players may go at least 7 days in advance. So hopefully we'll be allowed to keep Mane for Sunderland, which slightly eases my worries. Firmino needs to rediscover his form and Coutinho really needs to get match sharpness quickly. Personally, I think we should sign Dembele, Pulisic or Adama Traore on the first day of January. We have held back funds for this kind of calculated risk.
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Traore is a good shout. He looked like a handful last night. We're definitely signing someone in that area but I think Pulisic is a non starter due to Dortmund's stance.

If we can get through January still in the top four I think we'll stay there. Our last 10 fixtures start with City away, but the rest looks very winnable on paper.
 
Dumbstar said:
Fck me I've just seen we're playing City in an evening kick off then a day and a half later its Sunderland away. Not even two days. Mane won't be around either and Coutinho won't be ready. We need to make sure we're just about still in the top four by the end of this phase. Once we're over January (and Mane returns) it should start looking rosier.
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When does Mane leave ? He could easily play vs. both City and Sunderland. The ACON doesn't start until the 14th (Mane's first game on 15th).

EDIT. Just seen Dumbstar's post. Same sentiment.
 
Klopper76 said:
Traore is a good shout. He looked like a handful last night. We're definitely signing someone in that area but I think Pulisic is a non starter due to Dortmund's stance.

If we can get through January still in the top four I think we'll stay there. Our last 10 fixtures start with City away, but the rest looks very winnable on paper.
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Being fleet of foot and a handful in possession is far different from having the full package (defending, pressing, passing and crossing - the last supposedly Traore's weakness, not so clever for a winger) ! Bloody hell is he fast though.
 
We really need to beat City on sunday because then we don't have any big games until february, while there will be many big games in that period.
 
Klopper76 said:
I think you need to start scoring more goals. The current top four have managed at least 34 goals whereas United are down in 22. If you beat West Brom I definitely think you'll beat Boro and Sunderland, which will be five wins in a row.

If Chelsea drop a couple of points in the next few weeks it could all start to look quite tight with the top six.
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It's about balance more than more goals, we haven't scored that many, in fact less than Palace but have balanced it out to have a better GD than City and to be pretty close to Arsenal and Liverpool.

That said we aren't playing well enough to make top 4 this season, our form will need to pick up dramatically to mount a serious challenge.
 
Rafateria said:
Being fleet of foot and a handful in possession is far different from having the full package (defending, pressing, passing and crossing - the last supposedly Traore's weakness, not so clever for a winger) ! Bloody hell is he fast though.
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How is he not clever?
Or we just going off stereotypes.
 
SirHenryPercy said:
It's about balance more than more goals, we haven't scored that many, in fact less than Palace but have balanced it out to have a better GD than City and to be pretty close to Arsenal and Liverpool.

That said we aren't playing well enough to make top 4 this season, our form will need to pick up dramatically to mount a serious challenge.
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Agreed that said our respective league position when staked up against the potential in the squad show that we definitely need more goals.
 
City haven't beaten us since that famous 6-3 in 2013. Hope it continues on sunday. It's the only big team i am not really afraid of playing.
 
Righteous Steps said:
How is he not clever?
Or we just going off stereotypes.
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From the little I've seen of him I don't think he's a one trick pace pony. But I can see where Rafateria is coming from too. We've recently gotten rid of Jordon Ibe and still have painful memories of Ryan Babel. So yes maybe some accidental stereotyping is happening. But I still think he's worth the risk. Klopp might not have turned Ibe around but I'm sure he could do something special with Troare (like he has with Lallana).
 
Santi_Mesut_Alexis_87 said:
City haven't beaten us since that famous 6-3 in 2013. Hope it continues on sunday. It's the only big team i am not really afraid of playing.
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Yeah...Sanchez and Alexis going against Stones and whoever else they have in defense might not be pretty. Would also make sense for Wenger to play The Ox to run at their old, slow fullbacks.

I think you guys will win pretty convincingly since they don't have Aguero or Fernandinho.
 
Dumbstar said:
Fck me I've just seen we're playing City in an evening kick off then a day and a half later its Sunderland away. Not even two days. Mane won't be around either and Coutinho won't be ready. We need to make sure we're just about still in the top four by the end of this phase. Once we're over January (and Mane returns) it should start looking rosier.
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On the other hand if you have very little recovery time, the team you want to play in that situation is Sunderland.
 
Orc said:
Yeah...Sanchez and Alexis going against Stones and whoever else they have in defense might not be pretty. Would also make sense for Wenger to play The Ox to run at their old, slow fullbacks.

I think you guys will win pretty convincingly since they don't have Aguero or Fernandinho.
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It would be so Arsenal if they lost though.
 
Klopper76 said:
It would be so Arsenal if they lost though.
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True! :lol:

Here's hoping for a draw. If we beat Palace tomorrow there'll be a nice cushion if Arsenal are held.
 
Orc said:
True! :lol:

Here's hoping for a draw. If we beat Palace tomorrow there'll be a nice cushion if Arsenal are held.
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Depending on what we do at Everton you could be 9 points clear on Monday night. I've also read today that no team has failed to win the league with 40 points after 16 games.

You're looking good right now.
 
Orc said:
Yeah...Sanchez and Alexis going against Stones and whoever else they have in defense might not be pretty. Would also make sense for Wenger to play The Ox to run at their old, slow fullbacks.

I think you guys will win pretty convincingly since they don't have Aguero or Fernandinho.
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having both Sanchez and Alexis would surely see them winning this game :smirk:
 
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