Frank Lampard claims a win to Chelsea won't end Manchester United's Champions League qualification hopes.
A victory for Lampard's fourth-placed side would create a nine-point gap to United.
But Lampard says there are far too many games left to permanently end United's chances.
Asked if United's top-four hopes would be over with defeat on Monday, Lampard said: "No, not on nine points.
"Not at this time with the amount of points to play for and the way the Premier League is, certainly not."
He continued: "It's tougher, in terms of picking up points as you can see.
"It's just a changing of the Premier League slightly, teams now can invest a lot of money.
"Teams can get promoted to the Premier League and spend £100m and it doesn't guarantee success.
"That's the kind of challenge we are talking about but challenges are a good thing, and it's a challenge for us."