Well behind Arsenal & Man City – why Ten Hag must improve Man Utd’s away form this season

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Palace v Man Utd 

Manchester United make the trip to London on Saturday evening in desperate need of all three points for a number of reasons. Following defeat to Manchester City in the Community Shield, then back-to-back losses in the Premier League to Brighton and Liverpool, Erik Ten Hag’s new-look squad will be desperate to prove that they have what it takes to not only re-establish themselves as a top four side in the English top-flight but also show that they’re capable of keeping pace with Man City and fellow title-contenders Arsenal and Liverpool. And the best way to do that would be to drastically improve their form on the road. 

So far this season Man Utd have had mixed results on the road. Their first away trip in this season’s Premier League ended in a 2-1 defeat to Brighton, which was then followed up by an impressive 3-0 win over Southampton. But when we take a look at Ten Hag’s first two seasons at Old Trafford, we can quickly note that Man Utd’s away form has often been the biggest factor in keeping them at arm’s length from any of the title contenders or even a spot in the top four. 

For example, in Ten Hag’s first season at the club, Man Utd picked up an impressive 48 points from 19 home games which happened to be the second best return in the English top-flight that season and was second only to Man City’s return of 52 points from 19 games. However, when we then flip over to their away form, Man Utd’s form drops drastically for that season, with just 27 points won from 19 games. Not only was that the fifth best record in the division, but it was 10 points behind Man City and 12 points behind Man City. Ten Hag’s second season at the club only got worse for the Old Trafford side, as they finished eighth in the league for points won at home and 15 points behind league leaders Liverpool, and sixth for points won on the road and an even more troubling 17 points behind the best in the league, which happened to be eventual league champions Man City. 

When we bundle those two league campaigns together to see where Man Utd have fallen short of their domestic rivals, it undoubtedly underlines where the club needs to start picking up more points this season. Over the course of the last two seasons, Ten Hag’s side have finished 18 points off top spot when it comes to points won at Old Trafford. But, as the graph above shows, when it comes to points won on the road, Man Utd are a remarkable 27 points off what both Arsenal and Man City have achieved in the last two seasons. So if Ten Hag’s side do hope to finish in the top four and perhaps even take a stab at upsetting the status quo at the top of the table in this current league campaign, they’ll need to start winning more points on the road. And games such as this evening’s clash with Crystal Palace are a perfect opportunity to do exactly that.