Manchester United will be eager to avoid a familiar pitfall when the 2024/25 Europa League 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.
After Manchester United’s eight opponents were confirmed in the Europa League draw, the fixture dates and kick-off times have now been set.
- 25 September 2024: FC Twente (H) 8pm
- 3 October 2024: Porto (A) 8pm
- 24 October 2024: Fenerbahce (A) 8pm
- 7 November 2024: PAOK (H) 8pm
- 28 November 2024: Bodo/Glimt (H) 8pm
- 12 December 2024: Viktoria Plzen (A) 5.45pm
- 23 January 2025: Rangers (H) 8pm
- 30 January 2025: Steaua Bucharest (A) 8pm
Manchester United matches after Europa League games
We have now checked out the Europa League fixtures up against the Premier League fixture list, which allows us to see which fixtures United will play after the 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 after FC Twente (H): Manchester United v Tottenham
- Weekend after Porto (A): Aston Villa v Manchester United
- Weekend after Fenerbahce (A): West Ham v Manchester United
- Weekend after PAOK (H): Manchester United v Leicester
- Weekend after Bodo/Glimt (H): Manchester United v Everton
- Weekend after Viktoria Plzen (A): Manchester City v Manchester United
- Weekend after Rangers (H): Fulham v Manchester United
- Weekend after Steaua Bucharest (A): Manchester United v Crystal Palace
This is a mixed bag for Manchester United where the devil really is in the detail now the fixtures are confirmed.
For the late September game against Tottenham, United have home advantage for, Spurs are also at home for their opening Europa League game against Qarabag.
The away match against Aston Villa is tricky, because United are in Porto days earlier. Villa meanwhile are at home for their midweek Champions League match – although on the upside, facing Bayern Munich days earlier could take a lot out of them.
Another one to worry about is facing Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in late October, and then flying to face West Ham away days later in the Premier League. That is not set up at all well for United.
It is a little bit of a familiar 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, however, are away in the Champions League to Juventus the same week. They will have one extra day of rest.
And then at the end of January, United fly to Romania to face FCSB, but then return to a home game, thankfully, against Crystal Palace. Potentially, qualification to the knockout rounds could already be guaranteed by then.
It hasn’t broken down particularly well for United overall. The toughest away games during this stretch are at Aston Villa, West Ham, and Manchester City. And before all three – Erik ten Hag’s side are away from home in the Europa League.
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