BT Sport pundit Chris Sutton is expecting Manchester United to finish in the Champions League places now they have appointed Ralf Rangnick as interim manager.
While Sutton believes Arsenal and West Ham will also be in the race for the top four, he thinks that Rangnick’s ability as a coach will prove decisive in turning United’s season around:
“I’m saying Manchester United will finish fourth. The fact that Arsenal don’t have Europe this season is a massive advantage for them. Mikel Arteta and his players have got no excuses – no Thursday night games in Baku to hide behind. They’re even on the verge of having Arsene Wenger back at the club, and he knows a thing or two about finishing fourth. But Ralf Rangnick is a super-manager, a visionary of the game, the godfather of Gegenpressing, and I believe United are capable of sneaking into the Champions League places at the expense of fellow European hopefuls Arsenal and West Ham.”
Rangnick won’t be in the dugout when the Red Devils face the Gunners on Thursday evening, with the German’s visa application having not been approved yet, so we shall see what effect that has on the result.
Were United to beat their fellow top-four hopefuls, though, they would close to within two points of Arsenal. A defeat would, however, extend Mikel Arteta’s advantage to eight points.
There are still 25 matches remaining this season so Rangnick does have time to get his ideas across to the players, even though they are well off the pace at the moment.
