Former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick has suggested there could be a big opportunity for his old club after their exit from the Champions League last week.
The Red Devils will now have to make do with Europa League football for the rest of the season, and Chadwick expects that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will likely rotate his squad a little more in the competition.
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Of course, a club like Man Utd will surely fight and do their best in every competition they’re in, but Solskjaer will surely be under pressure to give his players a bit of a rest at times.
This might also be motivated by the fact that United may have a genuine shot at being in this title race, with Chadwick pointing out that things look very open this season, which gives his old club a chance to get closer than they have been in recent years, provided they get a good run together.
“It’s massive for the club to be out of the Champions League,” Chadwick told CaughtOffside. “The one saving grace for United is the title race seems wide open, as underlined by Liverpool only scraping a draw against Fulham, so there are opportunities there.
“Obviously the Champions League’s gone now, the Europa League’s there, but more importantly there is opportunity in the Premier League if the club puts a run of results together across the Christmas period.
“I think the Premier League will be the priority. They’re probably as close as they’ve been in the last few years to the top of the table.
“I think the whole culture at Manchester United is to go into every game to win. He might rest players and rotate a bit but I still think the Europa League will be important, as all games are at United. There’ll be players chomping at the bit for more action so it’ll be their opportunity to get more minutes and show they deserve a place in the starting XI.