How Manchester United would have fared if every Premier League season ended after 29 games

The coronavirus outbreak has halted the majority of football across the globe, and there is no guarantee that the 2019-20 Premier League campaign will be allowed to safely continue.

A final decision will be made in the coming weeks, but there is certainly a chance that the current campaign will not resume, effectively making it a 29-game season for the majority of clubs.

Liverpool could well be denied their first ever Premier League title, while the three teams in the relegation zone - Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City - could either be sent down immediately or handed a reprieve.

And then there is Manchester United, who currently sit fifth in the Premier League table. The Red Devils had been in excellent form before football was called to the halt, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side currently just three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.

Below, Sports Mole takes a look at how United would have fared if every Premier League season had ended after 29 matches.

The Red Devils were incredibly dominant in the early stages of the Premier League, winning back-to-back titles in 1992-93 and 1993-94 before finishing second in 1994-95. Interestingly, they were actually second to Aston Villa after 29 matches of the 1992-93 season but went on to win the title by 10 points.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side were eight points clear at the summit at this stage of the 1993-94 campaign, though, and ultimately went on to win the title by eight points from second-placed Blackburn Rovers. United trailed Blackburn by two points at this stage of the 1994-95 campaign, though, and lost out by a single point.

The English giants bounced back by winning successive titles in their next two seasons, but they were second to Newcastle United at this stage of the 1995-96 campaign. Ferguson's side led Arsenal after 29 matches of the 1996-97 campaign, meanwhile, and finished seven clear of Newcastle after 38 games.

United incredibly led Arsenal by nine points after 29 matches of the 1997-98 season but lost out to the Gunners by a single point after 38 matches. The Red Devils bounced back once again by winning four of the next five championships, but a third-placed finish occurred in 2001-02.

United were top at this stage of the 2001-02 campaign but finished third behind Arsenal and Liverpool, with the Gunners ultimately picking up 87 points from their 38 matches.

The English giants then went three straight seasons without winning the title after initially bouncing back in 2002-03. After 29 games of the 2003-04 season they were third, while they were second at this stage of the 2004-05 campaign and second at the same point of 2005-06, some 12 points off leaders Chelsea.

Ferguson's side won three straight titles between 2006 and 2009, though. They led the way after 29 games of the 2006-07 season but were second to Arsenal at the same stage one year later. United were back on top at this point of the 2008-09 campaign, though, and held on to triumph.

The Red Devils also won two of the next four Premier League seasons, claiming a runners-up spot in the other two. Interestingly, they led Chelsea at this stage of the 2009-10 campaign but ultimately finished second to the Blues by a single point.

United's first season after Ferguson departed was the 2013-14 campaign, where they finished in seventh under the leadership of David Moyes and Ryan Giggs. They were actually in seventh after 29 games of that particular season, having lost nine of their first 29 matches.

Fourth, fifth and sixth were the next three finishes, and they were fourth at this stage of the 2014-15 campaign. They improved on sixth at this stage of the next season to finish fifth, but sixth was their spot at this stage of the 2016-17 campaign, which was, as mentioned, where they ended up.

Jose Mourinho led the club to a runners-up spot in 2017-18, which was where they were at this stage of that particular season. Solskjaer's first season saw the team finish sixth in 2018-19, but they were fourth at this stage of the campaign and claiming Champions League football last term would have been huge.

Looking at the statistics, there is not a huge variation across the board, suggesting that fifth or fourth is what United would be looking at should the current campaign be allowed to resume.