From Sunday, the next six days will be a good gauge of Manchester United's development. Then on the seventh day they are due at Stamford Bridge.
Newcastle, Tottenham and Chelsea - current top six sides - is an intriguing triple-header for a squad that required a 93rd-minute goal to overcome Omonia Nicosia at Old Trafford. Mercifully, there are no more Europa League interruptions for a fortnight.
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to stumble to victory over Omonia once may be regarded as a misfortune but twice looks like carelessness. United had 65 attempts at the Cypriots' goal across two games and only four were fished out of the net.
