Another crucial week ahead for the Reds

With our women and youth teams also in action, it’s a huge seven days for the club. Here’s your guide on what to look out for this week…

MONDAY
The first team return to training as Jose prepares his side for a difficult trip to Valencia. The Reds secured qualification to the round of 16 last time out in the Champions League against Young Boys and could still finish top of Group H, if we win in Spain and Juventus drop points away to the Swiss side.

TUESDAY
The Reds will train in the morning at the Aon Training Complex, with the first 15 minutes of the session open to the media, before flying out to Spain. Upon arrival in Valencia, the boss will face questions from the media in his first press conference of the week, at 18:15 GMT (19:15 local time). Mourinho has already confirmed that Paul Pogba, Andreas Pereira and Scott McTominay will be involved at the Mestalla Stadium, but stay tuned to our coverage to see if he gives any further updates on the XI which could feature on Wednesday. With Valencia guaranteed third place and Europa League football regardless of the score, it will also be interesting to keep an eye on Marcelino's press conference earlier that evening for any potential team news. After Jose has addressed the media, a United player will also address reporters. 

WEDNESDAY
Nicky Butt’s Under-19s begin a busy day of football when taking on Valencia in the UEFA Youth League at their state-of-the-art training facility, Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna. The match is live on MUTV and will kick-off at 12:00 GMT. United have already topped the group with 13 points from five games - securing our place in the knock-out stage in the process - but it will still be a tough test for the young Reds.

Later that evening, the first team are in action against Valencia. The game kicks off at 20:00 GMT, the same time that Juventus face Young Boys in Switzerland in the other Group H match. We last travelled to Valencia eight years ago, when United beat the La Liga outfit 1-0 thanks to Javier Hernandez’s late strike. Following the game’s conclusion, we will know which sides the Reds could potentially face in the last 16, ahead of the draw which takes place on Monday 17 December.

THURSDAY
United Women are due to play their last game of 2018 on Thursday night, against Everton Ladies at Southport FC's Haig Avenue ground in the Continental Tyres League Cup. Casey Stoney’s side will be hoping to bounce back from a disappointing defeat against Durham last Sunday - our first-ever defeat in the Women's Championship. We did, however, beat the same opposition last week in the League Cup, and a similar result against Everton in the fourth and final game of the group would secure our passage to the quarter-final stage of the tournament.

FRIDAY
Jose is back in front of the cameras ahead of the mouthwatering Premier League game against Liverpool at Anfield this weekend. The boss will be answering questions from the media at the Aon Training Complex during his press conference, with the time to be confirmed in due course. It is also former United striker Michael Owen's 39th birthday and four years to the day since the Reds beat Sunday's opponents Liverpool 3-0 at Old Trafford, through goals from Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie.

SATURDAY
Our Academy graduate Jesse Lingard will celebrate his 26th birthday on Saturday. 

SUNDAY
It’s one of the biggest days of the season for United but, before our mammoth game against Liverpool, the Under-23s are in action against Reading. It's second against third in Premier League 2, and a win for Ricky Sbragia’s team could see them move top of the table. The game at the Madejski Stadium kicks off at 13:00 GMT and MUTV will be showing the match live. The first team then conclude a busy week with the eagerly anticipated trip to Anfield. Our last two visits to face Liverpool have resulted in goalless draws, so United will be hoping to go one better with a victory over our fierce rivals this weekend. The match will kick off at 16:00 GMT and you can follow our coverage to keep up to date with proceedings. 

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