Manchester United have got plenty to play for when they eventually return to action.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were in great form before the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to football around the world.
They were on a 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions, which included victories against Chelsea and Manchester City.
That run left them in the FA Cup quarter-finals, one foot in the Europa League quarter-finals after a 5-0 away win against LASK in their last-32 first leg, and 5th in the Premier League - just three points behind Chelsea in fourth.
Without knowing the outcome of Manchester City’s appeal against their European ban, United need to aim to finish in the top-four to ensure they will qualify for next season’s Champions League.
And they will be boosted by the returning Paul Pogba who hasn’t played December.
Nearly every club in world football would miss a player of Pogba’s quality. But United have coped just fine thanks to the arrival of Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon for an initial £47 million in January.
Fernandes’ arrival has coincided with Man Utd’s impressive form, with the Portuguese midfielder showing his quality immediately.
But with Pogba’s return, fans can’t contain their excitement at the thought of the French World Cup winner lining up alongside Fernandes.
In fact, one United fan can’t wait another week to experience the pair playing together. Therefore, he’s created a rather brilliant video showing what it will be like.
Very clever clip editing shows Pogba threading through balls to Fernandes and vice-versa to give supporters a glimpse into what is to come.
Twitter user @ShameIessFC wrote: “With football coming back next week, a lot of people are excited to see Bruno and Pogba play together for the first time. Here’s how it could look.”
Brilliant.
But while United fans are getting carried away at the thought of Pogba and Fernandes linking up, pundit Danny Murphy has warned that it might not work.
“In the big games against Liverpool, against Barcelona in the Champions League – whatever it may be – they’re going to get found out defensively,” Murphy said.
“It’s a delicate balance. It would definitely be exciting to see but my gut feeling is that Pogba will go because it’s going to be very difficult to keep him happy if he’s not playing every week.
“The fans have already turned on him I think.”
We only have to wait until Friday, June 16 to see if Solskjaer decides to play them together when United travel to Spurs.