5 reasons why Manchester United can win the Europa League this season
This campaign for Manchester United fans has been a mixed one at best – failure to convert draws into wins and to turn up in big games (4-0 loss against Chelsea and 1-2 home loss against City come to mind) has meant their prospects of finishing in the top four are quite bleak. The gap to top four is just two points as this article is written, and yet there is a lingering feeling that United's profligacy in front of goal will cost them dearly.
Also Read: Jose Mourinho has to take the Europa League seriously
The Europa League has been a different story, though – the latest 3-0 win over St Etienne was yet another instance of the Red Devils strolling over weaker opposition. With the competition getting ever tighter at the top end of the Premier League table, there is a definite case to argue that Europa League success represents Manchester United's best shot at Champions League football next season.
Here are 5 reasons why Manchester United can win the Europa League this season:
#1 Lack of quality contenders
Last year, a resurgent Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp beat European heavyweights Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United to move on to the semi-finals where they met a tricky proposition in Villarreal, and upon overcoming them was face to face with defending champions, Sevilla.
Such was the level of opponents Liverpool faced, that the footballing world agreed they had a tougher run in to the Europa League final than Real Madrid had to the Champions League final (Roma, Wolfsburg, Manchester City).
A year later, a cursory glance at the round of 32 fixtures suggests that with the exception of Tottenham, Manchester United can be expected to be comfortably dominant against the 30 other teams left in the competition.
For all his reputation, Mauricio Pochettino's record in Europe has been poor; he has always preferred to field second-string line-ups in anticipation of upcoming Premier League fixtures. Therefore, whether they are successful at seeing the task through or not, as things stand, there is a case to argue that United would be really disappointed to be knocked out by any of those 31 teams.