Manchester United will secure UEFA Champions League qualification this season by both finishing in the top four and winning Europe’s second-string competition, the Europa League, insists Paul Scholes.
After a rocky October and November, Man United are still yet to recover fully in the race for top four, sitting four points off Liverpool and five off neighbours Manchester City. Albeit, José Mourinho’s side have an important game in hand on City, and two on Liverpool, but remain outsiders for Champions League qualification.
Many United fans have pinned their hopes on winning the UEFA Europa League. They face Anderlecht in a two-legged quarter-final in April having beaten AS Saint-Etienne and FC Rostov since finishing top in their group.
Man Utd need 5 points from 3 tough away games
Rather than simply focusing on one to ensure Champions League football under the lights at Old Trafford next season, Scholes has backed United to do both; qualify for top four and win the Europa League.
“They will do it,” Scholes told MUTV’s Thursday Focus, “but I think, both ways.”
“The league is going to be tough and they have got three crucial away games at Arsenal, Tottenham and Man City,” Scholes admitted.
But if Mourinho’s side can come out of those three away trips “with five, possibly six points, then I think it will be very good and that will set them up for the top four."
Scholes: United are favourites for a reason
"With the Europa League, I think they are rightly favourites. They are by far the biggest club left in it and have probably got the best squad. Lyon could potentially be the team they have to worry about and it is not going to be straightforward, but they have got a great chance of winning the Europa League."
United make the trip to Anderlecht on April 13th, the second of nine games in an incredibly tough August which includes the home leg of that tie at Old Trafford on April 20th.
Scholes also backed Mourinho as the Portuguese nears the end of his first season at the club; “they are creating chances and they look like a United team everybody expects and wants to watch again.”
The Englishman did admit, though, that “the league position should probably be a little better than it is, they have dropped some really silly points.”