Manchester United head into their upcoming game at home to Tottenham Hotspur aiming to kickstart their Premier League season.
The Red Devils have made a stuttering start to the new campaign, picking up just seven points from their first five matches.
Manager Erik ten Hag needs his team to start performing consistently if they are to have any chance of forcing their way into contention for a top-four finish.
Intriguingly, online betting sites believe the odds of winning two blackjack hands in a row are higher than United’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
That assessment is a sad state of affairs for a club which was once ranked as one of the biggest in European football when Sir Alex Ferguson was manager.
Before United can even think about returning to those lofty heights, they must ensure they produce their best form against a Tottenham side which has been equally inconsistent.
With that in mind, we look at four key talking points ahead of the game, starting with an important issue Ten Hag needs to address in the middle of the park.
Ugarte must start against Tottenham
Ten Hag has taken a patient approach since the club signed Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain, but he needs to let the brakes off and start him against Tottenham.
The Dutchman recently claimed it will take Ugarte time to get up to full fitness, but United do not have the luxury of adopting such a relaxed approach.
The midfielder showed no signs of rustiness on international duty with Uruguay and would add some much-needed dynamism to United’s midfield.
Christian Eriksen has done a decent enough job in recent games, but the time has come for Ugarte to be unleashed in the Premier League.
Diallo needs to do more to justify Ten Hag’s support
Amad Diallo has been given a chance by Ten Hag to show he can nail down a starting role at United, but he has yet to justify the support.
The 22-year-old has bagged one goal and one assist in five league outings and needs to do more if he is to hang onto his place in the starting XI.
There has been plenty of hype surrounding Diallo since he netted the winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup last season, but he is not producing the goods consistently.
While the Ivorian looked good during a loan spell with Championship club Sunderland, he is yet to prove he can be a top-class performer in the Premier League.
Defensive stability will be crucial against Tottenham
Man United have kept clean sheets in their last three league and cup games, which gives them a useful platform to build from over the next few weeks.
Tottenham have several players who could cause them problems, but centre-back pairing Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez will be confident they can keep them at bay.
Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot have looked solid at full-back, with the latter looking increasingly comfortable despite playing out of position.
The quartet will be eager to continue in the same vein against Spurs and another clean sheet is not beyond them if they produce their best form.
Rashford can prove his critics wrong
Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira jumped on the Marcus Rashford criticism bandwagon by questioning his performance at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Vieira’s comments failed to take into account that Rashford was right to feel disappointed following his impressive displays in the previous two games.
While the 26-year-old failed to influence the match at Selhurst Park after coming on as a substitute, Vieira’s claims about his body language were nothing more than lazy punditry.
Rashford will hopefully be handed the opportunity to ram the Frenchman’s words down his throat when United face Tottenham this weekend.
