Can Manchester United win the Premier League title this season?
Scott Patterson: It's a possibility but not very likely. Come the end of the season, maybe it will be a close-run thing and United will be left to regret so many dropped points early in the campaign.
If Chelsea somehow manage to pick up comparable injuries, particularly in the form of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa, our chances would improve. Winning the league isn't a realistic expectation for United, though, at the moment at least.
Mark Payne: Absolutely, but the likelihood is not that high. Jose Mourinho's second season at a club usually brings him the title and Chelsea's start certainly sits in line with that. Even the most hard-core United fans would also concede that Manchester City probably have the best starting XI in the league.
Both of those teams have players and managers who know what it is like to win this trophy and United would need both of them to wobble and then collapse. It is possible that one might, but both? I am not so sure. If anything, United have been the side riding their luck the most in recent months.
SP: If United could bring in a couple of world-class defenders, one to play centrally and one as a full-back, then that should elevate their position. The quality at the back, as well as regularly occurring injuries, are massive concerns.
Essentially, the squad is pretty decent but the fact there's always at least five players unavailable means no sort of consistency or momentum can be developed. United don't need lots of new signings, just for their current players to stay fit.
MP: At the moment, United look like they are on course for a top-four finish. The question is, can they buy a player in January who would push them on to win the league? My suspicion is no.
While the team would certainly benefit from a rampaging midfielder or a centre-half that could stay out of the treatment room, midway through the season is not the best time to bring in those players.
United famously brought in Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra in 2005-06's midseason and they immediately conceded a hatful of goals in their first game. It took months for them to look comfortable. At the moment, United need their new players to settle, not to add more new players.
Where will Man United finish?
SP: Judging from the past month or so? David de Gea, Michael Carrick and Robin van Persie.
De Gea has been fantastic and the fans can thank him for single-handedly ensuring the team has finished a number of games with all three points.
Carrick isn't the player he was in 2012-13 but since he returned from injury United have looked more stable. Daley Blind and Ander Herrera are probably equally, if not more, capable of providing the same assurance if they can stay fit long enough to get a regular run in the team.
Van Persie had a slow start to the season but in recent weeks has looked increasingly sharp. He looks happy again, too, and is speaking about how it feels like "the good old days" of his first season at the club. You wouldn't bet against him scoring many more goals if he stays injury-free.
MP: It is no coincidence that United's winning run has coincided exactly with Michael Carrick's return from injury. His passing statistics have been ludicrously good in the past few weeks and his presence vastly improves the team's ability to circulate the ball. Despite being moved around from midfield to centre-back, having Carrick in the team calms the other players.
Similarly, goalkeeper David De Gea keeps all those wobbly defenders in line, too. A rough estimate assigns at least eight of United's 31 points to the Spaniard this season and the side would not have won against Everton or Arsenal without his nimble-limbed heroics.
Wayne Rooney is also shaping up for one of his best seasons. The captain drives the team forward and his recent period out showed that Juan Mata offers far less as a replacement. With Rooney on the field, you know United will never give in.
SP: At the start of the season, I would have happily settled for fourth and a good cup run. There was the assumption that the top four spots would be incredibly competitive, with Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and even Everton all looking to keep United out of the Champions League places. Given the lack of genuine competition, though, I'd be disappointed now if we weren't the team chasing Chelsea and City the closest.
MP: Before the season began everybody would have taken a place in the top four. That remains the case for now and the pressure for that comes from everywhere from the boardroom to TV viewers across the world. If United fell out of the Champions League for two consecutive seasons the chances of getting back would diminish enormously, that berth is of the utmost importance.
However, Manchester United should always be aiming to win the league. "Second place is nowhere" is very much an ethos the club lives by. Fourth is acceptable this year, but only this year.
SP: Third. There's still a long way to go and so much can change but I can't see Chelsea losing another three more games than us between now and the end of the season.
Still, United have the advantage over the teams above them in that they don't have the distraction of the Champions League. Getting dragged across Europe midweek before a tough Premier League opponent at the weekend takes a toll.
United have enjoyed the best form of any team in the league over the past six weeks but their performances haven't been very consistent. So while Chelsea and City will drop plenty more points over the remaining months, so will United.
MP: Van Gaal knows all about pushing a side through a league-winning campaign but the competition in England is more fearsome than that he has experienced in Spain or Germany.
United play Liverpool, City and Chelsea within a few weeks of each other at the end of March and start of April. If they emerge from those fixtures on top then the title will be theirs for the taking.
Chelsea may be too far ahead by that point, though, and I think United will finish second behind them.
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