Kristiansund v United: Your guide to the game

The game will be significant for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is set to return to his native country and take on his hometown club Kristiansund BK.

As we count down to Tuesday's 18:00 BST (19:00 local time) kick-off, here’s the key information you need to know…

SO FAR IN PRE-SEASON

The Reds have won all four games so far, starting with victories against Perth Glory and Leeds United in Australia. Ole’s men followed that up with two hard-fought triumphs in the International Champions Cup (ICC), firstly against Inter Milan in Singapore, before we overcame Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in Shanghai. As for Kristiansund, they have not played since 5 July when they enjoyed a 5-2 win over Lillestrom in the league.

HAVE WE PLAYED IN NORWAY BEFORE?

Norway has been one of our favourite pre-season destinations over the years and we last played there in 2017, beating Valerenga 3-0 thanks to goals from Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay. The Reds also faced Valerenga in summer friendlies in 2012, 2002 and 1998, with Solskjaer netting in the latter two. We also faced SK Brann in 1998, and earlier visits to Norway were made in 1991 and 1992.

WHO ARE KRISTIANSUND?

The club, named after the town in which it was formed, is located on the western Norwegian coast. Kristiansund play in Norway’s top flight, the Eliteserien, and are currently enjoying their second year in the division. The side were only formed in 2003, when they merged Kristiansund FK and Clausenengen FK (Ole’s former side) together to create one Kristiansund-based team. Therefore, Solskjaer has never technically played for the club, whose nickname is the Owls.

WHERE ARE WE PLAYING?

Kristiansund will travel to the Norwegian capital, Oslo, for the friendly game, which is being held at Ullevaal Stadion. The arena is the home of the Norway national side and has previously been occupied by FK Lyn and Valerenga. United have played at the 28,000-seater stadium on our last three trips to Norway and have won two and drawn one of our previous games there.

HOW ARE KRISTIANSUND GETTING ON?

The Eliteserien is around the halfway part of the season and Kristiansund are currently seventh in the table. The Owls have picked up 21 points from 14 games and are seven points off the European places in the table.

WHO IS THEIR MANAGER?

Christian Michelsen is in charge for the sixth year. The former midfielder spent his last few seasons as a player with the Owls and upon retiring in 2012 was appointed as manager Geir Bakke’s assistant. Two years later, he replaced Bakke and guided the club to their first promotion from the Norwegian second tier in 2017.

HAVE WE MET THEM BEFORE?

While United have faced several Norwegian sides, we have not previously locked horns with Kristiansund, although the Reds did play at the club’s ground in July 1992 when we beat IK Start 3-0. On that occasion, Clayton Blackmore, Mark Hughes and Danny Wallace were on target for the Reds.

ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KNOW?

Our Irish fans may recognise Kristiansund’s goalkeeper, Sean McDermott. The 26-year-old has been selected in the Republic of Ireland squad on several occasions but is yet to make a senior appearance for the Boys In Green. McDermott is not the only international in the squad, as Andreas Vaikla and Brent Lepistu are both Estonia regulars , while Flamur Kastrati has represented Kosovo and Meinhard Olsen earned his Faroe Islands cap last month.

WHO DO WE FACE NEXT?

The Reds meet AC Milan in our final pre-season game of 2019 next Saturday. The match in Cardiff may be significant for United as a win could ensure we are crowned ICC champions.

As with all the pre-season games, Kristiansund v United in Oslo on Tuesday (18:00 BST) will be shown live on MUTV.

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