FA Cup winners qualify for Europa League, League Cup winners qualify for Europa Conference. If the winners of either cup are already qualified for Europe, the spot goes to the league.
They beat Burnley on 4th December. They also played Arsenal, Leicester, Liverpool and Man City in quick succession before January.
Thankfully the defense UE has inherited is nowhere near as bad as the one Howe inherited.
3 games before WC, try and get as many points as possible. Then UE will have the WC break to get the team going. World Cup could be a blessing in disguise.
One of the reasons why I think he'll stick about until he feels he had done all he can. As opposed to Poch or Tuchel who would've jumped the first sniff of a big club coming in.