Manchester United remain in contention on all four fronts as we move into the business part of the season.
After a bumpy start to the campaign under Erik ten Hag, United surged up the table and entered the new year in the top four.
United currently sit third, seven points behind league leaders Arsenal who have two games in hand, and two points behind City who have a game in hand.
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Could United mount and unlikely title challenge during the remainder of the season, or will it be a top-four finish for Ten Hag's side? Let's take a look.
We used the Football Manager 2023 editor to update all teams, managers and playing squads of all Premier League teams, whilst also using the Football Manager 2023 editor to replicate the current Premier League table as it is in real life. We then simulated from February 10 until the end of the season in-game.
In United's remaining 16 games, they would've had to be almost perfect to win the Premier League whilst also hoping for the teams above them to drop points. Arsenal and Man City did drop a few, but so did United, and Ten Hag's side ended the 2022/23 season in third place.
United won 10, drew four and lost two in the second half of the season, with the two losses coming against Liverpool and Wolves. United ended the season on 77 points, 13 less than Arsenal in first place, 12 more than Newcastle in fourth and 14 more than Tottenham in fifth.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2023 put together an overall best United XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is how the best United XI looked in 2022/23 according to FM23.
Full Man United best XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Eriksen, Casemiro; Antony, Fernandes, Sancho; Rashford.
After impressing in the second half of the season, Jadon Sancho made the United best XI, with Rashford moving into the striker role ahead of Wout Weghorst and Anthony Martial. Antony started on the right wing, while Christian Eriksen also made the best XI, despite not returning to action during the simulation.
United continued to impress in the domestic cup competitions, and they won one when they beat Newcastle 4-2 in the Carabao Cup final. A 2-0 loss to City saw Ten Hag's side miss out on the FA Cup in the final, whilst a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Barcelona ended United's Europa League cup run in the first knockout round.
Overall, FM23 predicts that United could have a very good first season under Ten Hag, finishing third in the Premier League, reaching two cup finals and winning one trophy. The likes of Rashford, Shaw and Fernandes all rediscovered their best form, whilst United finally got the Jadon Sancho they wanted in the second half of the season, with the winger scoring 10 and assisting nine after February.
Would you be happy with this outcome at the end of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign? Let us know in the comments below!
