Manchester United have a “massive” chance to push for a top-four finish whenever the Premier League returns, according to former striker Dimitar Berbatov. United’s upturn in fortunes before the Premier League was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the fact that they will now have Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in the midfield will work in their favour, according to the Bulgarian.

“Make no mistake, this is a massive opportunity for United and they know it,” wrote Berbatov in a column for Betfair. “Hopefully, they will be prepared for that challenge because three points are nothing, if they win their first game back and Chelsea slip up then the three points aren’t an issue anymore, it can be as easy as that.

Advertisement

“But on the other hand, if United slip up and Chelsea win it will be six points, so they also have to be careful, there can be no room for error.”

Berbatov also said that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has to be careful getting Pogba back into the first team. The French midfielder has missed most of the 2019/20 season due to injuries.

United have had a huge boost in Paul Pogba returning to fitness. It is great news for the team.

“The dangerous thing is that he hasn’t played for so long, so hopefully he has prepared well and he will be ready to play at 100% again. Is he going to start?

“I’m not too sure, coming back from a long injury may impact him starting, it will be interesting to see if Solskjaer puts him straight into the battle. I’m sure if the manager asks Pogba how he feels and if he is ready, then Paul will say ‘of course I am ready.’

“It will be the first time we get to see [Bruno] Fernandes and Pogba play together and it will be interesting to see if they can hit it off, they will have had the chance to get to know each other in training but that is totally different to a game,” said Berbatov.