The Premier League fixtures have been released and this is how they could impact Man Utd.
Manchester United face a daunting festive fixture schedule in the forthcoming Premier League season that could be made even harder due to international commitments. The initial Premier League fixture list was released on Wednesday morning, with plenty of focus on the opening five matches of the season that will see United face Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea in quick succession.
Ruben Amorim will hope for a strong start to the campaign in order to help build momentum, with extra scrutiny on United's league form due to the fact they have no European football to play and just recorded their worst finish of the Premier League era.
A strong start to the season could be even more important when United head into a crucial festive fixture schedule with the realistic prospect they will be without a handful of star players who you would typically expect to be in their strongest line up.
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How AFCON 2025 could impact United
Manchester United are one of the sides that will be impacted by the rescheduled Africa Cup of Nations tournament, which was pushed back to December to accommodate the revamped Club World Cup. The continental competition was initially set to take place in June and July, but was pushed back to the winter to prioritise the new club tournament.
It means the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco will instead run from 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026, which could have a significant bearing on United's team selection. Ruben Amorim's side travels to face Aston Villa the weekend the tournament starts, with Morocco set to kickstart against Comoros. It means Noussair Mazraoui is almost certain to miss that match at Villa Park.
United then face Newcastle at home on 27 December and Wolves on 30 December. The final group stage matches finish on 31 December, which means United are almost certain to be without all of their African contingent for those three Premier League clashes at the very least. Depending on the success of each nation, United could also be without stars for the away trip to Leeds on 3 January and Burnley on 7 January, while the final takes place the same weekend United host Man City in the Premier League.
In terms of those who could represent United in the tournament, Mazraoui should represent hosts Morocco, Andre Onana could play for Cameroon alongside potential summer signing Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo will be a key part of the Ivory Coast squad looking to defend their title. There is also a chance youngster Sekou Kone could represent Mali in the tournament, while Chido Obi could be offered the chance to play for Nigeria.
Manchester United fixtures during AFCON 2025
December 20th: Aston Villa (A)
December 27th: Newcastle (H)
December 30th: Wolves (H)
January 3rd: Leeds United (A)
January 7th: Burnley (A)
January 17th: Man City (H)
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