Manchester United face a handful matches in the coming weeks that will either define their campaign as passable or an utter disaster.

Jose Mourinho has all but conceded he will prioritise winning the Europa League in order to secure automatic Champions League qualification for next season.

The Red Devils sit just one point adrift of the top four behind crosstown rivals Manchester City, and in normal circumstances, they would be far from out of the race to qualify via their league position.

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However, their progress in Europe has seen fixture congestion become a telling hindrance as the season approaches its business end.

From this Friday, United will only once have more than three days to prepare for any of their remaining fixtures until their final clash with Crystal Palace on May 21.

With the Red Devils to play a two-leg semi-final against Celta Vigo with a trip to Arsenal sandwiched in between over the seven days, Mourinho is widely expected to rest key members of his squad at the Emirates.

While it may seem risky for the Old Trafford boss to essentially put all his eggs in one basket, club legend Roy Keane thinks his choice is obvious.

"It is clear that his priority is trying to win the Europa League and guarantee Champions League football," he told ITV Sport, as per the Mirror.

"I think he is right. With the way the last week has gone, prioritise winning a trophy, definitely.”

However, when asked by fellow pundit Lee Dixon whether Mourinho could regret fielding a less than full-strength side, Keane took the opportunity to have a swipe at the Gunners.

He said: ”Well even a weak team would probably still beat Arsenal, they can afford to do that.”

While hardly being an out of character statement for Keane, it is certainly a risky claim to make considering a full-strength United team only managed a 1-1 at home in November.

The visitors go into the fixture with a five-point lead over the Gunners, who still have a game in hand which they simply must win to have any hope of staying within reach of the top four.

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