Hi all, thought I would make a post summarising both ourselves and our rivals for the month ahead just to provoke a bit of discussion. If you like it then I would keep doing it for the following months up to the end of the season.
Premier League
1 Feb: Manchester United v Hull City
5 Feb: Leicester City v Manchester United
11 Feb: Manchester United v Watford
We only have 3 premier league games this month due to us reaching the EFL Cup Final. Our game against Hull tonight is in hand against all of the top 4, who all dropped points. With three games that we should be winning against teams in the bottom half of the table, February will likely prove crucial in the race for the top 4 - especially because other teams in the top 6 are playing each other.
Rival Fixtures
Chelsea: Arsenal (H), Burnley (A), Swansea (H) - the key fixture relating to us is their game against Arsenal. Chelsea lost 3-0 in the reverse fixture and will be looking for revenge at Stamford Bridge.
Tottenham Hotspur: Middlesborough (H), Liverpool (A), Stoke (H) - another fixture between two rivals will see one drop points - the ideal result will likely be known nearer the time. The two drew 1-1 last time. Spurs stuttered a bit over their past couple of games with 2 draws following a 6 game winning run. Hopefully Boro and Stoke can further frustrate them.
Liverpool: Hull (A), Spurs (H), Leicester (A) - Liverpool are in horrible form and failed to win a Premier League game in January. In fact, their only victory was a 1-0 win in a replay against the mighty Plymouth. Despite crashing out of two cup competitions and falling behind in the title race, they showed signs of life against Chelsea.
4th - Arsenal: Chelsea (A), Hull (H) - only the two games for Arsenal due to Southampton reaching the cup final. Arsenal have been a bit of a mixed bag and it's difficult to tell whether they'll destroy a team or be destroyed themselves. Wenger is serving a touchline ban.
Man City: West Ham (A), Swansea (H), Bournemouth (A) - another mixed bag team. Difficult to tell whether they will be fantastic or horrific. Have only won 2 of their pat 5 EPL games, but their games for February look winnable for them. Hopefully one of these clubs can do us a favour as we are very close behind them.
Europa League
Our Europa League tie this month is against St Etienne (16 Feb H, 22 Feb A). They sit 5th in Ligue 1 and are unbeaten in their past 5 (W3D2). Still, this is a game we really should be winning. The second leg is away only a few days before the EFL cup final so it is critical to put the tie beyond them at Old Trafford.
Rival Fixtures
Spurs have entered the Europa League and play Genk. Liverpool and Chelsea have no European football so have a lighter month. Arsenal play Bayern in the champions league and City face Monaco, who are at the top of Ligue 1.
Domestic Cups
EFL Cup FINAL v Southampton (Wembley, 26 Feb) - our first chance of silverware, and to be honest we really should be beating Southampton who have not been fantastic this season. We beat them 2-0 in August. Unfortunately due to the Europa League Southampton have much more rest than us for the final. Our game against Man City has also been postponed because of this
FA Cup 5th Round v Blackburn Rovers (A, 19th Feb): No excuses here, Blackburn are in the relegation zone of the Championship.
Rival Fixtures
Chelsea, City, Spurs and Arsenal are still in the FA Cup. They play Wolves, Huddersfield, Fulham and Sutton respectively. Hopefully someone can do us a favour or nick a replay but all our rivals would be expected to advance.
That's all for February. If you guys liked this I'll be back next month, and if there's anything you think I can improve please message me!
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