Manchester United will kick-off their testing Champions League campaign at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday 20 October after Uefa confirmed the fixtures for the 2020/21 season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side found themselves drawn in the perceived ‘Group of Death’, with Group H also featuring Champions League runners-up Paris Saint-Germain and semi-finalists RB Leipzig, along with a long-haul trip to Istanbul Basaksehir.
With United’s summer spending among the more modest of the Premier League challengers - with the £40m addition of Donny van de Been surprisingly the only new arrival so far this window - simply emerging from the group for the knockout stages will be seen as an achievement this season.
If United are to achieve that, they will have to make do with every chance that comes their way, as the calibre of opponent in the group means a double-victory over Basaksehir is a must. On top of that six-point hail, United will require at least one more victory from their remaining four games if they are to have any chance of progression, with double-figures normally enough to book a spot in the last-16.
After their opening match against PSG, United then face RB Leipzig at Old Trafford a week later, before their November double-header against Basaksehir as they first meet in Turkey on 4 November before the return leg a fortnight later on 24 November.
United will wrap up their campaign at the start of December, when they will play the return leg against PSG on 2 December before taking on Leipzig in the final round of group-stage fixtures.
If all goes according to plans, United will hope to learn their last-16 opponents when the draw takes place on 14 December, though there is plenty of football to be played between now and then to determine that.
Manchester United’s Champions League fixtures
20 October: Paris Saint-Germain (A)
28 October: RB Leipzig (H)
4 November: Istanbul Basaksehir (A)
24 November: Istanbul Basaksehir (H)
2 December: Paris Saint-Germain (H)
8 December: RB Leipzig (A)
