Manchester United have found out their next rival in the UEFA Champions League, as they are set to face Atletico Madrid in February and March 2022. The round of 16 draw turned into chaos due to UEFA’s mistakes during the ceremony, thus the second draw confirmed United will face champions of Spain. However, while they do know they when they will play against Atletico, it remains to be seen when Ralf Rangnick’s side will face Brentford.
It is now official – Manchester United’s Premier League game against Brentford, which was scheduled for Tuesday 14 Decembar at 19:30, has been postponed and will be rescheduled at another time. This comes in light of the outbreak of the coronavirus, as there were players COVID positive following the PCR testing. The club announced late on Monday night that the small number of players are positive, due to which the team did not train on Monday.
When Will The Rescheduled Match Be Played?
The Premier League board decided to postpone the match basde on guidance from medical advisors and the game against Brentford will be played at some other date. This means Man United will not be part of the expected round of Premier League matches this midweek and that will further on complicate their schedule.
Man United were expected to play on Tuesday against Brentford and then to face Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday. From United’s point of view, the rescheduled match against the Bees could be played next midweek, but that will not be possible from Brentford’s point of view. Brentford are set to face Chelsea at home in League Cup quarterfinal on 22 December, further making it impossible for the two teams to play in 2021. With the festive period just around the corner, Man United and Brentford are unlikely to have any free slots when they could play this match, which will probably have to be played at some point in January 2022 or even later, depending on Brentford’s result in the League Cup.
What Awaits Manchester United Now?
So, what now for Manchester United? Due to COVID outbreak, it remains to be seen what will be the next moves, but it looks like the game against Brighton at Old Trafford will go on as scheduled. With the small number of players unavailable through COVID, Man United will be expected to play normally, once the remaining the players are confirmed to be healthy. Man United will face Brighton on Saturday early kick-off, before playing Newcastle at St James’ Park nine days later. There will be enough time to rest and prepare, as Monday night football will follow on 27 December. The last game of 2021, Man United will play at home against Burnley, on 30 December, before they kick off 2022 with another Old Trafford match, this time against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 3 January.
This coming period will therefore be very interesting for Man United fans – the team will not play the strongest sides in the league and this period could be a good one for the team to catch up with the league leaders as much as possible.
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