Dreams of competing for the Premier League title this season faded away a long time ago for Manchester United, who have been looking up at the top four for a little too long now.
The signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane haven't transformed United into the all-beating superstars that many predicted. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer paid the price in November and Ralf Rangnick has been trying to salvage something from the season ever since.
The goal is now to reach the top four and qualify for the Champions League again, but have United given themselves too much work to do?
We're in crunch time of the 2021/22 season and United aren't out of the race for the top four just yet, but the problem is that their fate is not in their hands.
Here's a look at United's top-four prospects.
How Man Utd can qualify for the Champions League
Even if United win all of their remaining games, there are no guarantees that they will finish in the top four.
Chelsea have pulled away in third so it looks like a four-way shootout for fourth place between United, Tottenham, Arsenal and West Ham. Out of that quartet, United's odds are slimmest. They're down in seventh in the standings and haven't got points, games played or goal difference on their side.
There's a game against Arsenal on April 23 which will almost certainly end United's hopes of reaching the top four if they lose. The Gunners are ahead on points with a game in hand and don't even need to win that game to finish ahead of United.
With Liverpool and Chelsea also on the schedule, United will have to be at their best for the remainder of the season to have even the slimmest chance of qualification.
Rangnick's men need to rack up as many points as possible, but they need all of their rivals to drop plenty of their own.
Man Utd Premier League fixtures
Man Utd vs Norwich (15:00) - 16/04/22
Liverpool vs Man Utd (20:00) - 19/04/22
Arsenal vs Man Utd (12:30) - 23/04/22
Man Utd vs Brentford (20:00) - 02/05/22
Brighton vs Man Utd (17:30) - 05/05/22
Man Utd vs Chelsea (15:00) - 15/05/22
Crystal Palace vs Man Utd (16:00) - 22/05/22
Can Man Utd finish fourth and not qualify for the Champions League?
Technically, even fourth might not be good enough for United... although fans don't really need to worry.
The only world in which fourth spot would not qualify for Europe's top competition is if Chelsea somehow drop out of the top four and win the Champions League, while West Ham simultaneously fail to reach the top four and win the Europa League.
That's obviously a possibility, but the odds are about as slim as you can imagine. For now, top four is still the goal.
Source : 90min