Manchester United will not play a Premier League game again this month, after the fixture with Leeds United was called off.
The game was United’s second league match to suffer postponement in the wake of The Queen’s death, following the Crystal Palace match a week earlier.
We then head straight into an international break for the UEFA Nations League matches, before the Premier League resumes at the start of October.
Manchester United will kick off a hectic October schedule… away to Manchester City.
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Manchester United’s next Premier League fixture
Manchester United’s next Premier League fixture coming against rivals Manchester City is hardly ideal.
United had been in form, winning four consecutive league games, and while this always would have been disrupted due to the international break, the Red Devils will go into this game particularly cold, with a month passing between the last match with Arsenal.
There is one piece of good news, potentially, if Anthony Martial succeeds in making his return from injury.
Speaking ahead of the Real Sociedad game, Erik ten Hag was cautious, commenting: “He is progressing but he is not ready to get back into team training or in a game.”
By time United return to action on October 2, Martial will have had additional time to work his way back to full fitness.
The perfect game for Martial
There is a strong case Martial could go straight into Manchester United’s starting line-up.
He would be fresher than Ronaldo and Rashford, both likely to be called up by Portugal and England.
Martial is United’s preferred lead striker, at least according to what Erik ten Hag showed us in pre-season. He just has not been fit enough to start yet in the league yet this season.
During his time at United, Martial has played a key role in wins against City. The most recent was the away victory at The Etihad in 2021, in which he won an early penalty and gave Ruben Dias a tough game for all 90 minutes in a 2-0 win.
Martial also scored the opener in a 2-0 win over City at Old Trafford before the lockdown, and also netted in a 2-1 away win at The Etihad the same season.
United saw flickers of this Martial in pre-season, and he will be desperate to get back playing as quickly as possible. City away is the perfect game to target for a return and make a statement.
In his one appearance this season he made a difference, providing the game winning assist against Liverpool last month. Getting him back for the City game would be an ideal boost.
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