Guide to this week at Manchester United

What's happening this week at United?

Monday 06 September 2021 07:00

Although international football will dominate the agenda for much of this week, the thoughts of Manchester United fans will instead be turning to the weekend with the club's four leading teams all in action.

New signing Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Manchester last Thursday after being released from the Portugal squad, and the no.7 will begin reacquainting himself with the city and the club.

There'll be familiar faces ready to greet Cristiano when he arrives back at Carrington this week after more than a decade away, whether it's coaches, players or staff working on the pitches, in the canteen or at reception.

We'll bring you exclusive behind-the-scenes content of Ronaldo's return to the club throughout the week, but here are the other key events to look out for...

MONDAY 6

A quiet day on the fixtures front for our international Reds. Amad and Eric Bailly's Ivory Coast are in World Cup qualifying action but neither player has joined up with the squad this time around.

Meanwhile, the players who are not away with their countries - including Edinson Cavani and Mason Greenwood among others - will be working at Carrington.

TUESDAY 7

Three Reds - Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane - could be in action for France as they take on Finland while Bruno Fernandes may play for Portugal away against Azerbaijan.

Both Fernandes and Martial scored in their last games for their countries and will be looking to repeat the feat and return to Old Trafford on a high.

At youth level, James Garner will represent England Under-21s against Kosovo at 19:00 BST.

WEDNESDAY 8

The final day of games in this international break. Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Jesse Lingard, who scored twice in Sunday's 4-0 win over Andorra, are with the England set-up and the Three Lions take on Poland at 19:45 BST, live on ITV 1. Elsewhere, Victor Lindelof, recently named the new captain of Sweden, could face Greece. David De Gea's Spain play Kosovo and Dylan Levitt's Wales are up against Estonia. All the players will begin travelling back to Manchester after their fixtures.

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 Article

Grab a little piece of history, as our matchday programme celebrates Ronaldo's return.

THURSDAY 9

The focus really begins to turn to Saturday's game against Newcastle. Players will arrive back at Carrington to get back into the groove, and it could be the first chance for Ronaldo to train with all of his new team-mates.

FRIDAY 10

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will speak to the media for the first time in a couple of weeks in his pre-match press conference, and you'll be able to watch it in full as we stream it on MUTV, ManUtd.com and in our Official App.

The boss will no doubt answer questions on Ronaldo and the fitness of Jadon Sancho - who pulled out of the England squad with a slight knock - among other topics.

In the evening, Tahith Chong could feature for loan side Birmingham City against Derby County. The game will be live on Sky Sports Main Event at 20:00 BST.

Old Trafford was raucous when we beat Leeds last month - and it could be the same again this Saturday.

SATURDAY 11

United v Newcastle is arguably one of the most hotly anticipated home games of the last decade with fans hoping to see the returning hero Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese has only made one appearance so far this season, for his country against Republic of Ireland, when he scored twice late on to become the all-time leading goalscorer in men's international football. Whether he'll be ready to feature on Saturday will become clearer after the manager speaks to the press on Friday.

Everyone is waiting to see Ronaldo pull on the famous red shirt once again, with the iconic no.7 adorning his back. The atmosphere for our opening game of the season against Leeds United was special, and this could equal it for noise and passion.

Order your collector's edition of United Review!

 Article

Grab a little piece of history, as our matchday programme celebrates Ronaldo's return.

If you’re not lucky enough to have yourself a ticket at the Theatre of Dreams for that day, follow the action as it unfolds on ManUtd.com and the Official App. You can also pre-order the official matchday programme, United Review, now.

There are two Academy fixtures on Saturday too, with the Under-23s playing Arsenal in Borehamwood at 13:00 BST and our Under-18s side facing Middlesbrough at Carrington an hour earlier.

SUNDAY 12

Marc Skinner’s United Women face their first away trip of the season, against newly promoted Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. The Reds made it a winning start to the WSL campaign with a 2-0 victory against Reading.

The Reds beat the Foxes 7-0 and 6-1 during our inaugural season in the Championship, but the East Midlands side have rapidly improved in recent years and can now count three familiar faces in their squad in former United players Abbie McManus, Jess Sigsworth and Charlie Devlin. You can watch our reunion with the trio at 14:00 BST on the FA Player.

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