Manchester United brought the curtain down on 2022 with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Wolves at Molineux on Saturday lunchtime.
Marcus Rashford, after being axed from the starting line-up for oversleeping and missing a team meeting, stepped off the bench to score the winner with just under 15 minutes of normal time left on the clock. His 11th goal of the campaign was enough to lift the Reds into the top four for the first time this season.
It moved them into fourth place, two points clear of Tottenham Hotspur, and just four points behind cross-city rivals Manchester City, who dropped points at home to Everton later in the day. The Reds, however, will drop back out of the top four if Spurs beat Aston Villa on New Year's Day afternoon.
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag has turned United weakness into one of their biggest strengths
Such is the nature of the busy and relentless festive period, United are back in action again as soon as Tuesday night, welcoming Bournemouth to Old Trafford. That will mark a run of three home matches in their next four Premier League fixtures.
With United continuing to make progress under Erik ten Hag, and the battle for Champions League qualification becoming tighter and tighter, MEN Sport has taken a close look at United's next six league fixtures in comparison to those of the teams that are expected to challenge them for a place in Europe's premier club competition come the end of the campaign.
Manchester United - 4th (32pts)
- Bournemouth (H) - January 3
- Manchester City (H) - January 14
- Arsenal (A) - January 22
- Crystal Palace (H) - February 4
- Leeds United (A) - February 12
- Leicester City (H) - February 19
VERDICT: With four home games in their next six, this upcoming period is one of opportunism for United. Aside from the clashes with City and Arsenal, they will enter four of their next six games as the favourites to scoop maximum points.
Old Trafford has been turned back into a fortress under Ten Hag, meaning United should have the confidence of getting maximum points from their clashes with Bournemouth, Palace and Leicester, while believing they can derail City's title hopes. Ten points from those four home games would be acceptable, not that there is anything to suggest they could not scoop all 12, given they have already beaten Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at home this season.
Arsenal - 1st (43pts)
- Newcastle United (H) - January 3
- Tottenham Hotspur (A) - January 15
- Manchester United (H) - January 22
- Everton (A) - February 4
- Brentford (H) - February 11
- Manchester City (H) - February 15
Manchester City - 2nd (36pts)
- Chelsea (A) - January 5
- Manchester United (A) - January 14
- Tottenham Hotspur (H) - January 19
- Wolves (H) - January 22
- Tottenham Hotspur (A) - February 5
- Aston Villa (H) - February 12
Newcastle United - 3rd (34pts)
- Arsenal (A) - January 3
- Fulham (H) - January 15
- Crystal Palace (A) - January 21
- West Ham United (H) - February 4
- Bournemouth (A) - February 11
- Liverpool (H) - February 18
Tottenham Hotspur - 5th (30pts)
- Aston Villa (H) - January 1
- Crystal palace (A) - January 4
- Arsenal (H) - January 15
- Manchester City (A) - January 19
- Fulham (A) - January 23
- Manchester City (H) - February 5
Liverpool - 6th (28pts)
- Brentford (A) - January 2
- Brighton & Hove Albion (A) - January 14
- Chelsea (H) - January 21
- Wolves (A) - February 4
- Everton (H) - February 13
- Newcastle United (A) - February 18
Chelsea - 9th (24pts)
- Nottingham Forest (A) - January 1
- Manchester City (H) - January 5
- Fulham (A) - January 12
- Crystal Palace (H) - January 15
- Liverpool (A) - January 21
- Fulham (H) - February 3
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