Things starting to come together for Manchester United

Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini opened the scoring in Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Stoke on Tuesday night

Manchester United chalked up their fourth consecutive Premier League victory last night as they saw off Stoke 2-1 at Old Trafford, courtesy of goals from Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata.

The victory took the Red Devils within two points of arch-rivals Manchester City, who are second in the Premier League table and eight points behind league leaders Chelsea.

Form

Manchester United have suddenly hit a spot of form and the situation at Old Trafford looks far more rosy than it has for a while.

The win meant that United had claimed four consecutive wins for the first time since David Moyes exit.

It also consolidated United’s position in the top four of the Premier League table and put Louis van Gaal’s team within touching distance of the teams above them.

Edgy

The win over Stoke was not an easy one. United keeper David de Gea pulled-off a superb save from a Mame Biram Diouf late-on and Ashley Young made a vital goal line clearance in stoppage-time to prevent the Potters rescuing a point.

The finish may have been edgy, but confidence seems to be returning to the United players and fans after a season and a bit of self-doubt.

Improvement

One of the key factors in the win over Stoke was the performances of midfielder Marouane Fellaini and makeshift full-back Ashley Young.

Fellaini struggled to justify his £27.5million price tag last season, as injuries and lack of form hampered his debut season at United. However, the Belgium international midfielder is now getting back to somewhere near the form that made him so influential at Everton.

Fellaini may not have yet justified his price tag, but at least the midfielder is starting to contribute something positive to the United team.

Young has contributed very little to the Red Devils team in recent seasons. In pre-season the former-Villa star looked like he was set to revive his United career as a wing back. However, Young has made just six Premier League starts this season.

Young’s performance against Stoke was encouraging and his last-gasp goal line clearance preserved the victory for the Red Devils. His crossing could have been better, but playing out-of-position at left-back he produced a decent performance.

Worry

Despite United’s four consecutive wins they have a major injury worry over England captain Wayne Rooney, who will have a scan later today to assess a knee injury. Rooney has been in good form this season, scoring 11 goals and collecting two assists from 16 appearances.

United boss Louis van Gaal will be sweating on the fitness of the forward, with the likes of Daley Blind and Angel Di Maria currently also sidelined through injury.

United have endured terrible luck with injuries this season, yet they are still in the top four and have hit a decent run of form.

It will be difficult to assess United’s prospects this season until they have something like a fully-fit squad available to Van Gaal, which has not happened often this season. United do look like they have decent squad when every player is fully-fit and should finish in the top four this season.

Priority

United’s priority will no doubt remain to finish in the top four and claim a Champions League place for next season. The Red Devils are currently eight points behind league leaders Chelsea in the Premier League table.

The Blues slipped-up against Sunderland in their last match, but look like they have a very strong team this season.

United are now odds of 20/1 to win the Premier League title this season. The title may currently be out of United’s reach this season, but a position in the top three this season is definitely not. It seems inevitable that Chelsea and Manchester City are going to claim top four positions this season.

The other two Champions League places are very much up for grabs and United are one of the form teams in the Premier League, with Southampton encountering a difficult run of fixtures and Chelsea seemingly in command of the title race.

Everything seems to be coming together for Manchester United under veteran Dutch boss Louis van Gaal. The Red Devils are not quite ready to challenge for the Premier League title, but they are certainly in a far better position than this time last season.

What are the expectations for Manchester United this season?