Back in December, shortly after Ralf Rangnick’s appointment Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves were asked to plot Manchester United ’s next 10 Premier League fixtures.
"That is win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win - it should be,” Hargreaves predicted.
Ferdinand was similarly optimistic about a run of games which included trips to the likes of Newcastle and Burnley and home games with, amongst others, Wolves and Southampton.
As it came to pass, United picked up just 16 points, failing to beat the Magpies, Aston Villa, Burnley, Southampton and Wolves.
But with 10 games of the season remaining, Rangnick is adamant that United need a similarly perfect stretch if they are to snatch a top four place.
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Currently a point behind Arsenal, having played three games more, finishing above the Gunners looks a tall task and Rangnick acknowledges his side require perfection from now until May.
He explained: "I didn’t actually expect Arsenal to lose at Watford so for us it’s clear, if we still want to have a chance to finish fourth at the end of the season, we can almost not drop anymore points, and we also know that in those 10 games that we have to play, there are a few other difficult ones so let’s take it game by game.”
But the fixture machine hasn’t been kind to United, who face a slew of tricky encounters against teams with plenty to play for.
Here Mirror Football looks at the run-in and whether they can really end the campaign on 77 points.
Tottenham (H) - March 12
The first meeting of these teams consigned Nuno Espirito Santo to his fate, which in turn saw Spurs nab Antonio Conte under the nose of United.
But Spurs remain, for want of a better word, very ‘Spursy’ under the Italian head coach, veering from the sublime to ridiculous perhaps as quickly as United.
The Red Devils will be hoping the Spurs that lost to Burnley turn up at Old Trafford, rather than the one which thrashed Everton 5-0 on Monday night.
Leicester City (H) - April 2
The Foxes thumped United at the King Power and showed that on their day, they have the kind of game which can cause them huge issues.
But Leicester aren’t the side they have been in previous seasons and United will be expecting to pick up three points.
Everton (A) - April 9
Everton are desperate for points, but their recent showings have proved that ‘desperate’ is the key word with them.
Against Spurs, they looked like a team in serious threat of relegation. Goodison Park will be rocking, but Rangnick’s side - on paper at least - should have too much.
Norwich (H) - April 16
There isn’t too much that needs to be said about this one, the Canaries could be doomed by the time they take to the field at Old Trafford and anything less than three points would be a disaster.
Arsenal (A) - April 23
It’s fairly simple…if United want to finish above Arsenal, it is very likely they will have to beat the Gunners at the Emirates.
And that will be no easy feat, only Chelsea and Manchester City have beaten Mikel Arteta’s side at home all season and they are in fine recent form.
This looks a tricky and potentially season defining fixture.
Brentford (H) - April 30
The Bees looked as if they were hurtling towards relegation before picking up a vital win over Norwich last time out.
They will be fighting for their lives and could make things difficult, but United would expect to come out on top.
Brighton (A) - May 7
Graham Potter’s side have earned plenty of plaudits for their style of play, but have won just two Premier League games since the start of the year.
Brighton did give United issues during the reverse game last month, with the hosts only picking up the victory following the dismissal of Lewis Dunk.
Brighton have picked up points against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal this season and will be looking for another scalp.
Chelsea (H) - May 15
United earned a point at Chelsea during Michael Carrick’s caretaker reign, but will likely need to go better in the penultimate game of the season.
Chelsea themselves are likely to be needing points for their own top-four tilt and this looks like another very difficult assignment.
Crystal Palace (A) - May 22
If United can take it to the final day of the season, they will have likely surpassed expectations in the weeks previous.
Palace look like a side reborn under Patrick Vieira and the partisan Selhurst Park would love nothing more than to be party poopers.
Liverpool (A) - TBA
This fixture has yet to be rearranged after being postponed due to Liverpool’s progression in the FA Cup.
The Reds are the form side in the Premier League with Jurgen Klopp’s team hoping to usurp Manchester City in the final months of the campaign.
Liverpool looked several levels above during their Old Trafford cruise and picking up all three points at Anfield looks fairly close to Mission Impossible.
