On the face of things, only two Premier League defeats in 14 games provides idea that Ralf Rangnick's interim tenure at Manchester United has been one of success thus far. However, if you delve deeper, five of those matches have been drawn, meaning only half the outings since early December have been won.
When you come to assess the theoretical challenge posed by the fixtures gone by, only three of the sides faced are situated inside the Premier League's top eight. United narrowly defeated West Ham United at the death, yet lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers and fell foul to massacre against Manchester City last Sunday.
The draws, meanwhile, have been against relegation-threatened Newcastle United (at the time), Burnley and Watford. Furthermore, points have been dropped against Aston Villa and Southampton.
United's two biggest challenges under Rangnick - against Atletico Madrid and, of course, City - have proven significant struggles. This is only poised to get tougher, with meetings against Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea to proceed Saturday evening's visit by Tottenham Hotspur in the final 10 matches of the Premier League campaign.
Tottenham, in recent weeks, have almost been considered stragglers in terms of the battle for the final Champions League place. No matter, they are now in a position that a win would see them leapfrog United - with two games in hand.
Given Arsenal's form, which has seen them rise above United with three games in hand, United are on the verge of being assigned straggler status.
Taken over by Antonio Conte after Nuno Espirito Santo's sacking following United's emphatic victory in North London in late October, things haven't gone too swimmingly for Spurs. They have recently endured a run of four consecutive league defeats, winning only once in six matches - against the lead leaders, too.
Since the aforementioned run, though, signs have been more promising (in the league, at least). Spurs have scored nine goals in their past two matches, not conceding as they put four and five goals past Leeds United and Everton respectively. Harry Kane's rejuvenation has been a huge plus.
Between those two league results, however, as United had done, Conte did oversee his side exit the FA Cup to Chris Wilder's Middlesbrough.
It certainly hasn't been the easiest ride for a manager that was in contention to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at United before the Tottenham vacancy reared its head prior to Solskjaer's dismissal.
Maybe Conte would have been in the Old Trafford dugout if United had lost against Spurs in late October. As it was, Solskjaer came up with the goods to win 3-0 and it was his counterpart who was axed. And, as proven over recent months, the prickly character of Conte would have possibly proven unideal in an already disharmonious United dressing room.
Looking back to the meeting at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, United were spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani - both on the scoresheet having started and played substantial roles in a dominant performance. Both missed the weekend rout at the hands of City, though both seem set to be available to face Tottenham.
"Cristiano resumed training yesterday," Rangnick confirmed. "He trained for the whole session and I expect him to be training today as well. He trained well, like the rest of the group, so I would have thought that he's available for tomorrow. What's important is that he and Edi are both back in training and are both available for the game."
Whether both, or either, will start is yet to be seen.
Raphael Varane was a certain miss last weekend as United shipped four goals, with the defender expected to return after his COVID isolation period. By contrast, Luke Shaw is still testing positive, with Scott McTominay doubtful with a calf issue despite involvement in training.
The major issue at the Etihad Stadium was the attitude on display in the second half, raising questions regarding the committment of the players. There has to be an upturn in the willingness of those on the pitch, otherwise top four hopes could go begging.
A loss to Spurs would put United in bad stead ahead of their Tuesday night Champions League outing - defeat in that would render the season all but over. Pessimism is rife. Saturday evening has the scope to be defining.
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