Manchester United will struggle to find a suitable time to play their postponed Premier League fixtures against Leeds and Crystal Palace - if they go far in every competition.
That's due to United's failure to win their Europa League group, which means there's a chance every slot between now and the end of the season will be reserved for other commitments - such as FA Cup replays, EFL Cup ties, and European games.
Erik ten Hag 's side finished second in their Europa League group after beating Real Sociedad 1-0 in Spain on Thursday night - their fifth consecutive win in Europe. That was enough to pick up 15 points in Group E, yet Sociedad topped the group on goal difference.
Thursday night's result means Sociedad have progressed to the last 16, while United go into the last 32 - also known as the play-off round - and will play an extra two games in February. Those two slots could've been used to play Leeds and Palace.
Those two Premier League fixtures were postponed following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in September. United's crammed fixture list doesn't mean the games against Leeds and Palace will not be played, of course, it just makes it much harder to schedule. The Red Devils may have to play more games in a short space of time.
United fans should also be aware that more postponements could be on the horizon due to the weather and Covid. Plenty of Premier League fixtures were delayed near Christmas last season after a Covid outbreak forced dozens of players to isolate.
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Yet there is a good chance United's calendar will clear between now and the end of the season. They could be knocked out of the FA Cup, Europa League or EFL Cup, with a tie against Aston Villa in the latter tournament pencilled in for this coming Thursday.
United will also do well to win their Europa League play-off, as they will face an eliminated Champions League team. Their possible opponents are Ajax, Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon, Red Bull Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sevilla, Juventus and Barcelona.
The other teams to progress to the play-off round are PSV, Rennes, Roma, Union Berlin, Midtjylland, Nantes and Monaco. The clubs through to the last 16 are Sociedad, Arsenal, Fenerbahce, Real Betis, Union Saint-Gilloise, Feyenoord, Freiburg and Ferencvaros.
United defeated Sociedad thanks to Alejandro Garnacho's first senior goal. The 18-year-old winger is quickly establishing himself as one of the most exciting youngsters in the Premier League after firing United to FA Youth Cup success last term - scoring twice in the final against Nottingham Forest - and winning the club's Young Player of the Year award.
Frustratingly for United, a 2-0 win against Sociedad would've been enough to top their group. Ten Hag told BT Sport at full-time: "You do not always get what you deserve. Today we win and I am happy with that and some other things like the performance of Alejandro Garnacho, and Donny van de Beek is back in the team.
"Of course we are disappointed we didn't score two goals... The aim was to bring extra offensive players in. At that moment we were too erratic. The last 10 minutes we got the ball in the box and created a good chance. We had to take risks."
