Man Utd's season-defining week: Marc Skinner's Red Devils need results against Bayern Munich and Man City to prevent promising campaign falling apart

It's been a weird season for Man Utd. When it began, few gave the Red Devils much chance, as the squad was incredibly thin and seemingly unfit for competing in four different competitions. That fear became a reality as the winter months came, with United unable to cope with the two-game weeks successfully enough to maintain a WSL title charge while also staying in Champions League contention.

Having gone into November just one point behind Manchester City in the league, United were seven points behind their table-topping local rivals by the mid-point of the month, having fallen to defeats to Aston Villa and City in a period that saw them play five games in 18 days. It's a gap they've been unable to close since.

However, given the negative impact of that lack of summer transfer business, Skinner and his players deserve a lot of credit for the position they had United in going into the winter break.

The Red Devils were still well in the hunt for a top-three finish in the WSL, had secured a place in the Champions League knockout phase and won their League Cup quarter-final clash with Tottenham, with a first FA Cup fixture to follow in January. Despite the huge obstacle presented by a lack of depth, United were still well and truly alive on all four fronts. It was massively impressive.

When the club invested well in the winter transfer window, then, it felt like United could kick on and only strengthen their position. In came a top-class centre forward in Lea Schuller, a promising yet proven goal-getter in Ellen Wangerheim and another necessary full-back option in Hanna Lundkvist. Though the defence overall still lacked depth, something exposed by injuries in recent weeks, these were pieces the Red Devils needed to cope when those two-game weeks came back around.

United's first few results of 2026 supported this belief, too. Skinner's side won eight of their first nine games of the year, with the only blip coming in a goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium, where United fought valiantly to earn a point after being reduced to 10. Highlights included victory over the Gunners in the League Cup semi-finals and the 5-0 aggregate win against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, while a four-match winning streak in the WSL put the team in a very comfortable position when it came to European qualification.

That's all changed in the last few weeks, though. Defeat to Chelsea in the fifth round of the FA Cup was forgivable, given the stature of the opponent and the fact nothing can be done about what tie a cup draw coughs up, but a 2-0 loss to the same opponent in United's next outing, in the League Cup final, took another trophy off the table. It was the Red Devils' 17th meeting with the Blues and yet, they've still only got the better of the London club once.

Then came a shock goalless draw at West Ham last week which dealt United a serious blow in their fight to finish in the top three. While the table shows Skinner's side are still second, that doesn't tell the full story. They have the toughest remaining schedule of the top four, starting with a clash against leaders Man City on Saturday. A trip to Chelsea on the final weekend is also on their agenda and a first-ever win away at the Blues may be needed to get into the European spots.

However, while the perception of United's season is slowly slipping into a negative place, that can all change over the course of this next week. Victory over Bayern Munich, to reach a Champions League semi-final, would be a monumental achievement for a team that is many years behind Europe's elite, having only reinstated a senior women's team in 2018. A result against Man City, meanwhile, would do absolute wonders for United's hopes of being back in the Champions League next season.

Neither will be easy to achieve. Bayern are the runaway leaders in the Bundesliga, some 11 points clear of second-placed Wolfsburg, while City outclassed United in their meeting in November, in a 3-0 win. But neither are infallible. Bayern have had some iffy results in Europe this term, most recently drawing against an Atletico side United have beaten three times this past year, and City have also suffered some slip-ups lately, drawing at Aston Villa after losing to Arsenal.

United will have to be at their best. They'll need to tap into that improved depth in attack that the January transfer window gave them and be much more clinical than they were at West Ham last week, where they had enough chances to win the game. Skinner will need to be on his A game when it comes to team selection and in-game changes, too. There are some injuries to contend with, making things tricky in defence especially, but some of his substitutions have also raised eyebrows lately.

It's a massive week. Come next month's international break, United could be into the last four in Europe, having never before reached the competition proper, and they could be back in the driving seat when it comes to qualifying for next month's Champions League, having also put a dent in their local rivals' WSL title hopes. Or, the Red Devils' season could be reduced to getting a top-three finish and a top-three finish only, with the chances of that potentially slim as well. It's all in their hands; now it's up to them to deliver.