Erik ten Hag might find out more about Manchester United players in five games than he has in 57

A marathon season that will clock in at 62 games for Manchester United has just 450 minutes (and maybe extra time) to run and with four weeks until the curtain finally falls, there are still a couple of scenarios that could play out for this team.

United have already lifted the Carabao Cup, ending a six-year trophy drought. Will it be enough to mark Erik ten Hag's first season in charge as a success? It all depends on what happens in those next five games.

The campaign could end up with two cups and a return to the Champions League. It could end with an inexplicable collapse in the league and becoming a part of the story of Manchester City's treble. Maybe - and most likely - it will be somewhere in between.

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But the diverging paths those narratives go down show how much there is still left to play for between now and June 3. The final weeks of the season are often when the very best teams begin to truly show themselves.

You only have to glance across town to see that. Manchester City are better now than at any other point this season. They are only one slip-up away from handing back the initiative in the title race to Arsenal. They play European experts Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final. An all-Manchester cup final brings its own challenges. But the confidence is coursing through City and although they've not won any silverware yet, the path to winning the three biggest prizes is lit up before them.

For United, the best of spring has brought the worst out of them. Just when they should be standing out from the crowd, they are falling back into the pack. Yes, this has been a demanding season and they look tired. They badly need this first free