Here’s your handy guide to what’s in store for Manchester United across seven days, including a training break in the United Arab Emirates and a trip to the national stadium to take on Tottenham Hotspur…
That back-to-work feeling will no doubt be rather different in Dubai as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his squad begin gearing up for the Spurs game in sunnier climes. The weather forecast for the United Arab Emirates shows the Reds will be training in the warmth of 27 or 28 degrees Celsius, compared to nine, ten or, if you’re feeling really optimistic, 11 degrees at home.
Certainly the temperature will be in single figures by the time our Under-23s face Aston Villa away in Premier League 2 – kick-off at Villa Park is set for 19:00 GMT with live coverage beginning half an hour earlier on MUTV. Later in the evening, we’ll learn of our reward for beating Reading 2-0 on Saturday when the draw for the Emirates FA Cup fourth round is made after Liverpool’s tie at Wolves.
Another training day in Dubai, where the weather will be nothing like it was in Manchester exactly seven years ago for one of the greatest derbies in recent memory – City 2 United 3. Paul Scholes came out of retirement and stepped off the bench to help the Reds win the FA Cup third-round tie.
MU Women will surely take confidence from Sunday’s 9-0 league win over London Bees into another home game against a team from the capital – West Ham United. The Continental Tyres League Cup quarter-final at Leigh Sports Village will kick off at 19:00 GMT.
THURSDAY
As the Reds return from Dubai, we’ll remember a match from the Treble-winning season when the Reds beat West Ham 4-1 in the Premier League and mark the anniversaries of two very successful January signings for the club – Andy Cole in 1995 and Patrice Evra in 2006.
If it’s business as usual after Dubai, we’ll have a pre-match press conference for Sunday’s clash with Spurs. Look out for confirmation later in the week. Our Under-23s will be in action again in the evening, this time hosting Fulham in Premier League 2 at Leigh Sports Village (kick-off 19:00 GMT). Meanwhile we’ll be wishing happy birthday to Reds legend Bryan Robson (he’ll be turning 62) and Academy graduate Demetri Mitchell (22).
SATURDAY
Naomi Hartley in our MU Women’s squad will be celebrating her 18th birthday and it’s 10 years since Cristiano Ronaldo scored his only hat-trick as a Red, in a 6-0 drubbing of Newcastle United at Old Trafford during that epic 2007/08 season. Also on this day, in 1997, Solskjaer scored in a tight 2-1 away win over Spurs. Ole’s omen? We hope so.