Its make or break for Manchester United this week

The Red Devils will be locking horns with two of their fiercest rivals later this week, facing Liverpool in the Europa League round of 16 2nd leg and cross town rivals Manchester City in a Premier League showdown this Sunday.

Both these games would test van Gaal’s men’s ability to be in the elite group of the world’s most reknowned football clubs.

United are to host Mersyside outfit Liverpool at Old Trafford this Thursday for a 2nd leg game in the Europa League round of 16 which would be their only second meeting in European competitions. The Scousers come into this game with a 2 goal advantage over their long time rivals with a 2-0 home victory in the first leg.
Both the sides desperate to get some Champions League football next season are aiming to win the Europa League as a direct qualification. United featured in this season’s Champions League group stage but couldn‘t manage to come in the top 2. Following that they played Danish champions FC Midtjylland in the Europa League round of 32 where a second leg 5-1 victory at home saw them through. But luck didn’t continue to favor as Louis van Gaal lost his first ever game as a United manager to Liverpool in his 2 year spell.

If it means any good to the Manchester United fans, they can go into the second leg thinking that the team can still turn things around and make it to the quarter finals like they did in the previous round after a disappointing first leg defeat. But then its Liverpool they're facing this time who wouldn't be an easy team to beat, so the Old Trafford camp needs to be wary of the situation and the consequences. With the uncertainty of playing in the Champions league next year over their current Premier League position, a win is must for them and not just any win, they need to have at least a 3 goal advantage which is going to be a mammoth task to get done.

Following that, the Citizens welcome United for a Premier League game between the 4th and the 6th placed sides in the English top tier this Sunday. While Man City's title hopes looking practically difficult its a rather different story at other side of the town. United struggling to keep themselves in the race for a second consecutive top 4 finish since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure  will need to win the season's second Manchester Derby. With the first one having ended in a goalless draw, the fans would unarguably want a better and interesting show off skills from their players.

These are not just any regular derby fixtures that Man United will have to win but the ones that can decide their next season's fate. So yes, the pressure is surely mounting on them and the squad need to get their acts together if they are to pull off a convincing win in both the fixtures.

This is perhaps the Red Devils' only chance to secure their future as even a tiny mistake certainly can break it, so yes this is a make or break moment for them now ahead in this week.