The Premier League title race, for much of the season, has been a two-horse race. Arsenal galloped away at the start of the campaign and have barely let up, with Manchester City chasing them all the way.
Erik ten Hag's time as Manchester United boss did not get off to the best of starts, but he has overseen something of a revolution at Old Trafford as the season has gone on, with the Red Devils being put into the title equation.
A thumping 7-0 defeat at old rivals Liverpool last week did them no favours, seeing them drop off the pace even further, and they followed that up with a goalless draw with relegation-threatened Southampton at the weekend.
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That leaves ten Hag's men 16 points adrift of Arsenal, albeit with a game in hand. That looks too much of a bridge to cross to reach the Premier League crown, but there are still murmurings United are still part of the title talk.
Were they to win their game in hand they would be 13 points adrift of Arsenal and eight shy of Manchester rivals City.
That seems like a lot and something else also comes into play when thinking about United as potential title challengers. With ten Hag's side in FA Cup quarter-final action next weekend, they are not playing in the Premier League. That means they do not play in the top flight again until the beginning of April - an international break is scheduled for the weekend of March 25/26.
And, when they come back from that international break, they could be down in fourth spot in the Premier League table. That is because Tottenham take on Southampton at St Mary's next weekend and can leapfrog the Red Devils into third spot with a win.
Looking at the table then, with Spurs having played two games more than United admittedly, if the Lilywhites are not in the conversation for the title, then you could easily discount United too.
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