For Manchester United fans, the 2024/25 season is one best forgotten. A fifteenth-place finish was dismal and far below what supporters expect from their club. Now that the new season is not so far away, Ruben Amorim’s side has a clean slate to start from and a fresh challenge to take on.
For fans, the start of a new campaign is always a cause for optimism and the chance to hope for better times moving ahead. Supporters who like to bet on the Premier League also start to get excited and eagerly look forward to Utd matches to wager on.
What are the chances the club has for a better season in 25/26, and how does this look from a fan and bettor’s point of view? Let’s see.
What do sports bettors think of Man Utd’s chances in 2025/26?
A good starting point is assessing the odds bookies assign to Utd in the new campaign. These sit at around 30/1 for winning the Premier League with most sportsbooks, which suggests bettors think a title challenge is not on the cards. This is despite recent individual momentum from United players, where standout performers have drawn attention from punters.
Looking deeper into their odds, the team’s relegation chances are similar across most betting sites. One interesting thing, though, is how most bookmakers have Utd at around 9/2 to clinch a top fourspot in the new season. This suggests sports bettors feel the side could improve enough in the new year to clinch European football.
If you plan to bet on Utd games during the new season, remember to practice proper sports betting bankroll management. This will help you gamble more responsibly and avoid risking too much on any one wager.
Man Utd in 25/26: The fans’ perspective
It seems fans are coming into the campaign reeling from last year’s troubles, but with cautious optimism that things should go better than last time out. Although morale is still pretty low in the stands, there’s hope that coach Ruben Amorim will spark positive change in 25/26.
In addition, most fans are taking a realistic position that this year is about climbing up the league and staying away from any relegation worries. They are keen to see the side stabilise under Amorim and start to get back to where they need to be.
What factors affect how people view Man Utd’s chances in the new season?
We’ve analysed fans’ and bettors’ views on Utd’s prospects, which are similar. Neither expects a title challenge, and relegation is unlikely. Most predict mid-table safety or European qualification. Let’s see which factors are behind these kinds of views.
Lack of incoming transfers to date
One thing that is certainly dampening down any lofty expectations for the 25/26 season is a lack of incoming players so far. Whilst the £62.5 million signing of playmaker Matheus Cunha is a big plus, no other big names have followed yet.
When you consider that the squad has lost Christian Eriksen, Jonny Evans, and Victor Lindelof already this summer, things are looking worse than before in terms of numbers. This is leading fans,in particular, to view the upcoming season with a sense of caution.
Tough start to the new season
After last year’s woes, everyone at Old Trafford would have wanted an easy start to the new campaign. This is not the case at all, and Amorim’s squad face a real baptism of fire in the opening weeks.
This involves games against:
A tough opening batch of games like this could really put them on the back foot for the whole season if things go badly. For this reason, the early fixture list is tempering expectations with fans and bettors.
Quality players still in the Utd dressing room
Whilst the above might explain why huge improvements aren’t expected from Utd this season, there are some positives that suggest why they think it will build on last year. Although they may not be overly blessed with them, a few players of real quality are still in the dressing room.
New signing Cunha is an obvious example, but there’s also Bruno Fernandes, Lisandro Martinez, Joshua Zirkzee, Kobbie Mainoo, and Amad Diallo. Recent reports of Alejandro Garnacho now staying at Utd also prove this point. This is enough to build a talented team to stabilise next season and reach mid-table at least.
Amorim is well-settled into the dugout
Another factor behind the hopes many fans and bettors have of an improved season in 25/26 is the continued presence of Ruben Amorim. Whilst he’s been far from perfect since taking the reins, he’s clearly a capable coach who is trying to sort out the fractured dressing room and build for the future.
Both fans and bettors hope that a full pre-season with the team and the chance to mould them to how he wants to play will bear fruit in the coming months. Stability in the dugout will be no bad thing and could well help the players to perform better in the new season.
Man Utd 2025/26: Realism and hope from fans/bettors
It’s fair to say that fans and bettors are not rating Utd’s chances of winning the title or suddenly becoming world beaters in the new season highly.
This is only sensible when you consider what happened last campaign and the lack of quality new signings to improve the team so far. With Amorim settled into life in Manchester and a decent existing talent pool for him to choose from, there’s hope from all quarters for an improved 25/26.
