The three games that could define Man United season

CommentsSportopinionTyrone Marshall Senior Manchester Football Writer16:29, 11 Mar 2026For at least one of Manchester United, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool, this season looks certain to end in disappointment. Even with the Premier League on course to secure a fifth spot in next season's Champions League again, one of that quartet is going to find themselves without a seat at the table come the end of May.

In any normal campaign, you would look at Villa and think they would be happy with finishing sixth and heading into Europe once again. But Unai Emery's side had hoped for so much more this term.

Villa have slipped to fourth now, but they have been in the top four for the past 17 weeks and for a while were threatening to make this title race a three-team affair. Should they slip away and end up in the Europa League again, it will sting.

For United, Chelsea and Liverpool, the picture is different. All three of them expect to be at Europe's top table. Chelsea and Liverpool are still in this season's Champions League, while United are on the outside looking in for a second successive season, a pattern they know they have to change.

At the moment, it is Liverpool who occupy that dreaded sixth place, but only three points separate the four teams and all of them have nine games left to play.

It is United who arguably have the momentum under Michael Carrick, although that stalled slightly with defeat to Newcastle in their last game. They also have another advantage in the final nine games, or at least it looks like an advantage at the moment.

Like Liverpool, United still have to play the other three teams involved in this race. Aston Villa and Liverpool will visit Old Trafford, and United head to Stamford Bridge. To at least some degree, their fate is in their hands.

The impact of these head-to-head fixtures was evident last week, when Chelsea won 4-1 at Villa Park, a body blow to Emery's side. United could inflict further damage on them this weekend.

They also have the advantage of the games being somewhat spread out. They have had a 10-day gap to prepare to face Villa, then face Chelsea in mid-April and Liverpool at the start of May. For Arne Slot's side, the challenge is very different. They play United, Chelsea and Villa in successive games in the final month of the season.

How United fare in the most high-stakes games left in their season is going to have a significant bearing not only on where they finish, but also on the fate that awaits Carrick at the end of the campaign.

Six wins and a draw from his first eight league games in charge is an excellent return and means he is rightly the favourite to land the job permanently, but that could change. If he gets the better of Emery, Liam Rosenior and Slot in these big games, it would strengthen his credentials. The alternative would be damaging.

Right now, it feels like United's season is on a go-slow. Between the defeat to Newcastle at St James' Park and the Old Trafford clash with Leeds next month, they will play just two games in 39 days.

But as Carrick has been at pains to point out after the last week, his side have put themselves in a position where there is a lot riding on their campaign now. They might not be competing on different fronts or playing twice a week, but there is still a lot to play for, and there are three games that look likely to have a major impact on what happens next.