Louis van Gaal may have other things on his mind at the moment after guiding his side through the ‘Group of Death’ at the World Cup in Brazil, but the Dutchman will probably have afforded himself a little smile when he found out about Manchester United’s fixture list for the new season. The task of restoring United to its former glory is no light burden, but the opening fixtures for the 2012/13 champions should allow van Gaal to ease himself into the job.
In their first six matches, Manchester United will face all three newly-promoted sides, Leicester City, Burnley and QPR, as well as welcoming Swansea City and West Ham to Old Trafford and travelling to the Stadium of Light to battle Sunderland. This means that United will not be up against any top-half teams from last season before October, giving the Red Devils the opportunity to build up a head of steam and potentially open up an early gap at the top of the table. These opening six fixtures are ones that the majority of fans would expect United to win, and if van Gaal can stack up 18 points on the board in the first two months of the season, it would offer him a very strong foundation to build on for the rest of the season. October offers slightly harder challenges in Everton, West Brom and Chelsea, before United have to travel to Manchester City and Arsenal in November, but if van Gaal can generate some momentum with a streak of early victories, the confidence that would flow through United’s veins may just carry the side through some potentially very difficult fixtures.
In stark comparison, cross-city rivals Manchester City face Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in their first five games whilst Liverpool have Tottenham, Manchester City, Everton and Southampton in their opening six. Chelsea have been given a slightly easier start to the season, but still have to travel to Goodison Park and the Etihad Stadium before October. With potential slip ups all over the place for United’s rivals, van Gaal will be eager to capitalise and put his side in pole position in the title race. United will inevitably face tougher runs of fixtures as the season progresses, but an early lead would not go amiss, especially with a new manager, and would leave their rivals playing catch-up right from the start, giving van Gaal’s side a huge psychological advantage.
It has to be considered that Manchester United realistically have weaker squads than the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City, making it even more important that United pounce on the advantage offered to them by the luck of the fixture list. Having a strong start will be vital for van Gaal if he is to succeed at Manchester United next season, and the way the balls have come out of the hat have given him an opportunity to do just that.
