Manchester United will be eager to avoid a familiar pitfall when the 2024/25 season begins.
Squad management will be important for Erik ten Hag next season as Manchester United attempt to bounce back from an injury-hit 2023/24 campaign.
One of the challenges for next season will be to successfully navigate multiple competitions, namely the Europa League and Premier League schedule.
United will be playing Europa League matches on Thursdays, and Premier League games on Sundays. This can mean a tight turnaround for the domestic games, especially if they come after away trips, and the Red Devils have come unstuck here in the past.
Europa League dates set
The re-formatted Europa League means there are eight group stage games which only begin in late September and drag on into late January.
It is certainly a change from the norm, yet we can be thankful UEFA are not cramming all eight in before Christmas.
- Matchday 1: 25/26 September 2024
- Matchday 2: 3 October 2024
- Matchday 3: 24 October 2024
- Matchday 4: 7 November 2024
- Matchday 5: 28 November 2024
- Matchday 6: 12 December 2024
- Matchday 7: 23 January 2025
- Matchday 8: 30 January 2025
With qualifiers set to begin, which Manchester United are not a part of, the full fixtures are yet unknown, so we do not yet know for which dates Erik ten Hag’s side will be home or away.
What we do have is the Premier League fixture list, which allows us to see which fixtures United will play after the Europa League games.
Manchester United matches after Europa League games
The following games are officially set for Saturdays, and will be formally re-arranged once the Europa League fixtures are set.
- Weekend September 28: Manchester United v Tottenham
- Weekend October 5: Aston Villa v Manchester United
- Weekend October 26: West Ham v Manchester United
- Weekend November 9: Manchester United v Leicester
- Weekend November 30: Manchester United v Everton
- Weekend December 14: Manchester City v Manchester United
- Weekend January 25: Fulham v Manchester United
- Weekend February 1: Manchester United v Crystal Palace
This is a mixed bag for Manchester United where the devil will be in the detail once fixtures are announced.
Any potential advantages/disadvantages would depend on whether United are at home on the Thursday night, or face a long-haul trip across Europe.
For instance, the late September game against Tottenham, United have home advantage for, and this could be doubled down on if we are at home in the Europa League, while Tottenham’s own Europa League fixture sends them to Eastern Europe.
The match against Aston Villa is tricky, but could be made easier or harder based on whether the hosts are home in their Champions League game days earlier, or away.
It is a similar story with the derby in December, where United’s task of visiting the Etihad could be made harder by a long haul flight days earlier. City’s preceding fixture is also one to watch.
The real dangers come with the late October and late January games against West Ham and Fulham.
Both sides will have a full week to prepare, while United’s players could have to fly across Europe, play match, fly back, and then travel down to London to play against a totally fresh team. Having a home game prior to this could make it a little easier.