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Manchester United kick start their 2021-22 Premier League campaign with a huge fixture against bitter rivals Leeds United at Old Trafford on Saturday. After a couple of months of lull, it is finally time for on-field action to take centre stage. The atmosphere inside the Theater of Dreams is expected to be electric given the slackening of the restrictions.
Manchester United's summer transfer activity has been nothing less than impressive, with two high-profile signings already being made. As confirmed by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, neither Jadon Sancho nor Raphael Varane is expected to make their debuts against Marcelo Bielsa's men. However, the club faithful could still start weaving their dreams surrounding the duo.
It would be wrong to get the hopes too high though. The Premier League is a very physically demanding league with the competition getting higher every season. Teams such as Leicester City and West Ham have started to threaten the traditional top-six in the Premier League and any lapse in concentration could prove detrimental to United.
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Manchester United have struggled for consistency in the Premier League
Manchester United have to address their issues with inconsistency. Although Solskjaer's team have finished their last two Premier League seasons on a positive note, they have always been forced to play catch-up. Last season, when they started to pick up pace, the race for the title was almost already over.
Ahead of the upcoming season, here's a closer look at the five main obstacles that could prevent Manchester United from ending their Premier League title drought.
#5 Absence of a high-profile centre-forward
Manchester United's scoring hopes have rested hugely on the shoulders of an aging Edinson Cavani. Although the young Mason Greenwood will get his chance, the 19-year-old is only expected to contribute in part.
While Solskjaer is more keen on finding scorers from all across the pitch, it still helps to have a consistent centre-forward among your ranks. Cavani, with his advancing years, might still have a year left in his barrel. However, he might become prone to injuries and in his absence Manchester United's goal scoring hopes could suffer.
Manchester United have made a huge investment in signing two players. That means that the Red Devils do not have the adequate budget to conclude a deal for a world-class striker.
And with Chelsea and Manchester City investing heavily in their strikers, Manchester United's Premier League chances could take a hit.
#4 Over-reliance on Fernandes, Sancho for creative spark
Manchester United's new Portuguese superstar Bruno Fernandes has hardly put a foot wrong since his move to the Premier League. He has been a constant presence in the middle of the pitch, featuring in all but one Premier League game last season.
With the blockbuster signing of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund, Solskjaer is looking to complement Bruno Fernandes inside the attacking third.
Together the duo scored 44 goals between them last season, though in different leagues. Manchester United are looking for something similar from them this season as well. But if the combination fails to deliver, they could be in for trouble because Solskjaer hardly has a back-up plan.
Then again, even if either of the two suffer from a long-term injury, Manchester United's plans could go out of the window.
Another of their go-to guys for goals, Marcus Rashford, is expected to miss the opening part of the season due to injury. Furthermore, Anthony Martial is badly out of form and has been linked with a move away from the club.
As such, the onus will be on Fernandes and Sancho to offer a creative spark. Should they fail to do so, Manchester United could struggle over the course of the season.
#3 Premier League rivals strengthening their squad
Manchester United's Premier League title rivals Chelsea are expected to complete a club-record transfer to bring Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge in the coming days.
Their German manager Thomas Tuchel left his imprint on the team last season, despite not having the chance to have a full season with them. Now he has an entire pre-season under his belt and a proven goal-getter like Lukaku will soon be at his disposal. Tuchel will therefore aim to take his Champions League winning squad to the next level.
Manchester United's local rivals Manchester City, on the other hand, are looking to dive in for Tottenham star Harry Kane after getting their hands on Jack Grealish. They dominated the league last term and once they have scorers such as Kane in their ranks they could be unstoppable.
Additionally, 2019-20 Premier League champions Liverpool are set to welcome the influential Virgil van Dijk back from injury. The Reds have further strengthened their defense with the addition of Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig.
In a bid to shake off the disappointment of a campaign marred by injuries last term, Liverpool have been working hard in pre-season and look set to bounce back.
As such, all of Manchester United's fiercest rivals for the Premier League title can more than claim their right to be contenders next season. That leaves the Red Devils with very little margin for error.
#2 Inconsistent form and slow starts
The 2019-20 season was Solskjaer's first full season as Manchester United manager. The Red Devils didn't manage to get off to a flying start, winning three, losing three and drawing four of their opening 10 games of the Premier League season.
The eventual champions Liverpool, on the other hand, won nine of their first ten, thus developing a 14-point gap at the top.
The gap was always going to be tough to bridge. Despite Manchester United showing sparks of form post the pandemic break, they finished 33 points behind the Premier League champions.
Fast forward to last season, Manchester United were the victims of three defeats in their first ten matches. Though at that stage they were going neck to neck with the eventual champions Manchester City, the Citizens ended January with a 100 per cent win record to steer ahead.
Manchester United, on the other hand, lost two matches, one against Manchester City and the other against a lowly Sheffield United. That pushed them further behind in the race for the Premier League title.
Given their recent record in the Premier League, there are fears of a repeat yet again, despite a bright pre-season for Manchester United.
If the Red Devils end up starting as slow and inconsistent, their rivals could open up a significant and unassailable gap in the race for the Premier League.
#1 Pressure on Solskjaer to emulate SAF at Manchester United
Every time Solskjaer's team take to the pitch, comparisons are made between him and his former manager Sir Alex Ferguson. When Manchester United win, fans insist that the Norwegian has inherited his managerial skills from his boss. When they lose, the blame is put on the 48-year-old's inability to learn from his predecessor.
This results in Solskjaer's inability to experiment with his formation, forcing him to stick to the old 4-2-3-1. Managers such as Pep Guardiola, because of the aura around them, get away with the failure of their formations (the false 9 approach failed miserably in the Champions League final). But Solskjaer has to fear the backlash it could draw if his approach fails.
And that could prove to be crucial in the longer run. Other formations have to be tried out if one fails and the former Molde boss is afraid of doing that
With the arrival of Jadon Sancho, Solskjaer is finally planning to tweak the formation with a three-man attack. It remains to be seen if he is open to the idea of further flexibility whenever the situation deems it necessary.
If the Norwegian opts to play too safely, it could prove to be detrimental to Manchester United's Premier League title hopes next season.
