Manchester United fans may well be taking advantage of a rare weekend in which the team's game does not interfere with their plans outside of it. The defeat to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night served as yet another reminder of how awful the season has been, and the confirmation of yet another trophyless campaign means there is no possibility to turn it into one of any success this season.

A probable top-four finish is the only thing that remains to be played for, and even accomplishing that would be a small consolation in a season in which the goal had been to mount a serious Premier League title campaign.

United's absence from play this weekend is a further setback for the club. It's all about the FA Cup quarterfinals this weekend, with Man City, Liverpool, and Chelsea vying for a spot in the semifinals, all under the tutelage of premier English coaches.

It is possible that United would still be in the cup tournament if it had not been for a dreadful performance against Middlesbrough in February, however there is no certainty that they would have enjoyed any success in the last-16 tie.

Instead, United supporters will be able to enjoy the rare Manchester sunshine without fear of the Red Devils spoiling the day. This comes on the same weekend that the trio of elite clubs could all book a trip to Wembley next month, and just a day after all three of them confirmed their quarter-final opponents in the Champions League, which will be played on Tuesday.

Butragueno is hoping that Real Madrid's expertise under Ancelotti would help the team beat Chelsea.
A another indication of how far United has slipped behind the leaders, with their goal now being to be the best of the rest rather than a real rival to the domination of Manchester City and Liverpool in recent years, as was the case last season.

It is impossible for the club to celebrate a top-four result, even if it means qualifying for the Champions League this summer, but there will undoubtedly be many who try to see the bright side of what has been an extremely tumultuous season for the club.

This weekend could very well be another silver lining for those who are grasping at straws. Despite United's unavoidable problems, they are still very much involved in the race for fourth place, and the results of this weekend could reveal whether or not any of the other contenders are genuine contenders.

With all of their progress this season, Arsenal still remains a team that crumbles under duress, and their match against Aston Villa on Saturday lunchtime appears to be a real banana skin following their midweek setback to Liverpool in the Premier League. Aside from highlighting the growing pressure at the Emirates, Mikel Arteta's bizarrely timed rant about fixture scheduling this week also alluded to the growing expectations placed on a team that is still considered the underdog in any big game as they struggle to cope with the renewed expectations placed on them by a revitalized fanbase.

One of the things that has made Arsenal so successful this season is their ability to deal with a large number of midtable opponents. Now, following the setback to Liverpool, they must repeat the process if they are to truly establish their influence.
Also on the horizon is another challenging weekend for Tottenham, who will take on West Ham on Sunday afternoon in a match that will almost certainly result in at least one of the teams in the title race dropping points. In the Premier League this season, United has beaten both of these sides twice, serving as a stark reminder of how far behind both of them have fallen when they still lack the consistency to beat a side that is in such disarray as Ralf Rangnick's side.

No one can disagree that this season has been a disappointment, but they are a club in which every achievement is exaggerated in order to create a false sense of optimism, and every failure is over scrutinized in order to create a fake sense of crisis.

Truthfully, United are still the best team in English football, even though they aren't one of the top three teams. A fourth-place finish at the end of this season isn't a surprise or a great deal.

In the wake of a midweek defeat that served as a stark reminder to Manchester United of how distant they still are from the elite teams in Europe, the results of the Premier League this weekend may serve to at least convince them that the other rivals are not an immediate threat.