What's happening this week at United?
It’s a quieter week on the pitch at Manchester United, by this season’s standards, but by no means is it any less significant with several key matches to come over the next seven days before the week is rounded off with a trip across the Pennines for the latest instalment of an old rivalry.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Reds will wrap up our only week without a midweek outing for the first team, excluding the international breaks, so far this season with the journey to Elland Road to take on Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United in the Premier League on Sunday.
Our Women’s, Under-23s and Under-18s sides are also in league action this week while there are some memorable dates to look back on from years gone by.
Here's a look at what's going on this week at United...
MONDAY
We’ll kick off the week by bringing you the reaction from the 3-1 win over Burnley on Sunday, including a look at how Donny van de Beek marked his 24th birthday with his first Premier League assist, for Edinson Cavani in the dying minutes.
Later in the day, the next episode of the UTD Podcast will also be released with former Red Paul McShane this week’s special guest. That drops on all the usual podcast platforms at 17:00 BST.
TUESDAY
It’s likely Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have the majority of his first-team squad back on the grass at the Aon Training Complex as preparations ramp up ahead of Sunday’s trip to West Yorkshire.
We’ll also be celebrating some special anniversaries on Tuesday, with the day 64 years on from our fifth First Division title win in 1957 and 24 months since our Women’s team capped an impressive inaugural season by topping the FA Women’s Championship and securing promotion to the WSL for the first time (2019).
WEDNESDAY
It’ll be 22 years to the day since one of our most famous European nights, as Alex Ferguson’s Reds completed a dramatic comeback from two goals down to defeat Juventus in Turin and progress to the final of Europe’s elite competition for the first time since the 1967/68 season. Full speed ahead, Barcelona!
THURSDAY
A memorable hat-trick from Robin van Persie against Aston Villa sealed a 3-0 win and our 20th league title in front of a packed Old Trafford on this day in 2013. Thirteen years earlier, David Beckham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were on the scoresheet in a win at Southampton that also crowned us as 1999/2000 Premier League champions.
FRIDAY
Speaking of the boss, Ole will meet with the media for his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s game against Leeds. You’ll be able to follow the his media briefing across all of our official platforms and on social media.
Our Under-23s will also be in action when Chelsea are the visitors to Leigh Sports Village for a Premier League 2 Division One encounter that gets underway at 19:00 BST, live on MUTV.
SATURDAY
The weekend starts with Neil Ryan’s Under-18s taking on Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Aon Training Complex. MUTV will again provide full live coverage of the noon kick-off.
Saturday will also bring up the anniversaries of our first two FA Cup triumphs. The Reds overcame Bristol City 1-0 courtesy of Sandy Turnbull’s first-half goal in the 1909 final before going on to lift the trophy again on this day, 39 years later, when Matt Busby’s Reds beat Blackpool 4-2 at Wembley.
SUNDAY
Attentions turn to Elland Road where Ole's Reds will be hoping to keep up our unbeaten run away from home in the Premier League this season when we face Leeds. It’ll be our first trip to our rivals’ Yorkshire home since 2011 and our first in the league for nearly 18 years. Kick-off for this highly anticipated clash is at 14:00 BST.
It’s a double bill to end the week, with United Women taking on Tottenham Hotspur first at 12:30 BST. The game sees Casey Stoney's side back in WSL action as we look to make the first of three final pushes towards Champions League qualification. Let’s hope we can complete a league double over Spurs this season and take all three points at Leigh Sports Village.