Terrace Talk: Zlatan absence might prove blessing in disguise

Greetings from a sunny Paris — and thus not Turf Moor — where your correspondent is covering the French presidential election.

So in the manner of a pre-prepared Bank Holiday special, let us look ahead, and officially declare that we are now about to plunge headlong into The Run-In. What lies in wait, and where do we really stand?

Eight, and possibly nine, games now loom, and only one of them could in any way be deemed relatively ‘easy’: Southampton. The rest threaten to test United’s supposed post-Chelsea resurrection to the limit.