There could be no quibbling with Ralf Rangnick’s decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo for Tuesday’s game at Burnley. The 37-year-old provided evidence in the manager’s defence by adding to Manchester United’s catalogue of bungled opportunities after being introduced from the bench. Earlier in the season Ronaldo’s sharpness regularly saved United. Now he has gone five matches without a goal and Rangnick cannot ignore the fact that, when Ronaldo is not scoring, he does not offer much else, unlike Edinson Cavani. With a resurgent Southampton visiting Old Trafford this weekend and United still chronically fragile at the back, Rangnick will need to field forwards who can be relied upon to convert most of their chances if they are to avoid falling further behind in the race for the top four. Does he have any? PD
Manchester United v Southampton, Saturday 12.30pm (all-times GMT)
Last time Norwich fought a Premier League relegation battle, they beat Manchester City 3-2 in one of the standout games of the 2019-20 season. An entertaining but naive side ultimately went down with a whimper; the same seemed nailed on this time around but, under Dean Smith, the Canaries have discovered a steelier edge and have given themselves a shot at survival. They have played more games than those around them, though, and may find their fixture list dwindling all too quickly once a trip to Anfield has followed hot on the heels of the leaders’ visit. A big scalp could do wonders for their prospects: Manchester City have not lost in the league since October and are seemingly cruising to the title but if Norwich can repeat the trick of two years ago then a different end-of-season outcome could look more than realistic. NA
Norwich v Manchester City,
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