Manchester United aren't out of the Premier League title race yet.
While mounting a serious campaign for the title always seemed unlikely this season, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 's side have demonstrated impressive consistency and currently find themselves in second position, 11 points behind leaders Manchester City.
The Reds have eight games remaining to play in the league this term and if they can emerge with the three points against Burnley at Old Trafford on Sunday they will close the gap to their bitter rivals.
If they win against the Clarets the gap between the two Manchester clubs would just be eight points and, while that would likely be enough to increase tensions at the Etihad, United can continue to ramp up the pressure in the coming weeks.
Interestingly, United can actually close the gap to two points if certain results fall their way, and then the prospect of winning their first Premier League title for eight years would suddenly become a real possibility.
Of course, it would be made all the sweeter by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, and it would take a dramatic collapse from City to facilitate an unlikely late title charge from United - potentially the ultimate redemption for the Aguero moment in 2012.
So, what actually needs to happen for the gap two close to two points?
Well, United need to win their next three league fixtures which means beating Burnley, Leeds and Liverpool, and City would need to lose against Aston Villa, with their fixture against Crystal Palace to be played after United's against Liverpool.
As those last round of fixtures are yet to be confirmed, that's the key caveat, though, and while it seems unlikely those circumstances could play out, it would be foolish to underestimate the power of football to deliver late twists and turns.
