Man Utd have announced four games in England as part of their preseason plans.
What will happen?
The Ole Gunnar side will face Derby, QPR, Brentford and Everton as they prepare for the new season. The last two games will be played at Old Trafford and, if there is no further setback in the government’s relaxation of restrictions, fans will be admitted to the stadium, in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines.
On July 18, before a weeklong training camp in the UK, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s began his pre-season road trip to Wayne Rooney’s Derby. They will then host QPR at the Kiyan Prince stadium on July 24, ahead of two matches at Old Trafford against Brentford and Everton respectively.
The fixture against the winners of the Championship playoffs will be played on July 28, while the meeting with the Toffees is scheduled for August 7. The new Premier League season kicks off on August 13, with United playing against Leeds at lunchtime on August 14.
The club is exploring a range of options for overseas games and a potential training camp on warmer shores. However, government travel legislation makes planning very difficult, since quarantine is required after travel from the vast majority of countries.
Normally United would travel long distance, their last tour in 2019 took place in Australia, China and a game in Norway, but the current pandemic status means this was not possible.
With a short hiatus between campaigns last year, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side barely had time to spend the preseason due to their Europa League commitments. They put the squeeze in one game against Aston Villa and their poor start to the campaign was blamed for a lack of pre-season preparation.
What did Collette Roche say?
Man Utd COO Collette Roche said further confirmation of the preseason schedule that this year’s preseason schedule has been planned with current travel restrictions in mind, while ensuring that Solskjaer and players have the best possible preparation for the new season.
Placing two preseason games at Old Trafford will also give them another opportunity to safely welcome fans to the stadium ahead of the new Premier League season.