Man Utd Women face Bayern Munich at Old Trafford tonight at the start of a huge week for the club, with the spotlight firmly on them.
Marc Skinner
Marc Skinner and Julia Zigiotti Olme talk to the media ahead of United's Champions League tie with Bayern Munich
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The stage has been cleared for the next eight days, the spotlight belongs to Manchester United Women. The team with the "giant name without the giant history," as boss Marc Skinner describes them, are about to embark on a week with plenty riding on it and three games that could define their season.
With the men's team out of action for three weeks, those United fans craving their football fix who don't always pay attention to how their female counterparts are doing should be paying closer attention for the next few days.
Tonight, they welcome Bayern Munich to Old Trafford for the club's first-ever Champions League quarter-final. On Saturday, it is derby day at Old Trafford, with a WSL game crucial to United's hopes of staying at Europe's top table next year. Then next Wednesday, they are at the Allianz Arena for the second leg against Bayern.
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United have already competed in a cup final this month, losing the League Cup showdown with Chelsea, and they earned a dramatic WSL win against Everton at the weekend, but there is no escaping the reality of the size of these three games, as well as the opportunity this team has to carve out their own slice of the limelight.
That hasn't always been made easy by the club they represent. As Skinner alluded to, their history dates back only eight years, and United were a late adopter of a women's team. More recently, co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made no secret of his focus on the men rather than the women.
So this run of games, without the competing interests of the men playing, without the dominant discourse of the Premier League, and coming at a time when supporters might be looking at what else is going on, could serve as an opportunity
"I'd like to think so," said Deborah Henry, chair of the Manchester United Women Supporters' Club (MUWSC). "It has been the only European football that either of the senior teams have been involved in, and I don't think it's been recognised as such by people outside of the women’s fan base.
"I think that's part of the apathy sometimes that exists towards the women's team and I'm not going to deny that I think a lot of that also comes from within the club itself. So I think that this is a heck of an opportunity."
That apathy can spread from the top. Ratcliffe's comments might have been pragmatic, but they were also unnecessary, and could have left the women's team fighting for attention when their own progress deserves wider praise in its own right.
Manchester United Women celebrate beating PSG in the Champions League
United have already beaten PSG in the Champions League at Old Trafford this season
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United are in their first Champions League campaign, and as a measure of their progress, the seven other teams in the quarter-finals all reached this stage last season. Skinner's side are the disruptors.
"We're competing against some giants of the game and we're a team that has a giant's name, but not a giant history of experience," he said. "So we're bridging the gap very quickly, but it needs that special energy, and that's why our players bring it."
Both home games this week are at Old Trafford rather than at Leigh Sports Village, but they will face different challenges. While more than 20,000 tickets have been sold for the Saturday lunchtime derby, United are only expecting a crowd of around 5,000 to 10,000 tonight.
UEFA rules mandate that games at this stage be played at the larger stadium, but women's football often attracts a family-friendly audience, and an 8pm kick-off on a Wednesday night, when schools are in session the following day, inevitably means ticket sales are slow.
"The games at Old Trafford are a bit divisive sometimes, because we often feel quite proud of the atmosphere and the record that we've got at Leigh," said Henry. "Sometimes I think it feels like taking a team to Old Trafford might nullify our home advantage. If you’re not selling out Old Trafford, you lose any advantage if it's a bit sparse."
But Skinner believes his players now feel at home there, having played there more often in recent seasons. They beat Paris St-Germain at Old Trafford in the league phase of this competition earlier this season.
Midfielder Julia Zigiotti Olme is also happy to play the game at Old Trafford. She joined United from Bayern in the summer and has helped pass on details of her former teammates to Skinner.
"I don't think it feels that much different [to Leigh]," she said. "Playing Old Trafford is like a dream come true, it's such a historical ground and everything, so I think we're all very excited to play there.
"Of course, it may feel closer to the people at Leigh, but I still think it's such a cool experience to play at Old Trafford. So for us, I don´t think it matters that much, but hopefully as many people as can show up and support us because we need them."
The next three games can influence the bigger picture at Old Trafford. United are second heading into the weekend's WSL derby against league leaders City, who are eight points clear, and the focus of Skinner's team will be on Chelsea and Arsenal, who are hot on their heels. One of them will miss out on Champions League football next season.
United scored a dramatic late winner against Everton on Saturday
United scored a dramatic late winner against Everton on Saturday
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City, Chelsea and Arsenal all have a richer history with their women's team, but United are making progress. Their success can gradually help attract a bigger fanbase and ensure more tickets are sold for occasions like tonight.
Arsenal sold around 20,000 tickets for their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Chelsea last night, while they have shifted more than 40,000 for the weekend's north London derby at the Emirates.
Bayern have already sold more than 15,000 tickets for next week's second leg against United and should surpass the 20,000 mark. While Henry believes the club could do more to push the merits of the women's team, she also believes the quality of the football has to be the ultimate selling point.
"I think women’s football has a bit of an identity crisis, where it wants to be family-friendly, but it also wants rivals. Sometimes those two don’t sit alongside each other," she said.
"So you say it’s a great day out, it's certainly a cheaper day out at Old Trafford than it would be for the men's team, but where's the longevity? Where are the people coming back for that? What are we selling them? I've always said that if the product's good enough, people will come back, if the football is good enough, people will come back.
"Let’s advertise it around football. Yes, it’s more accessible and more affordable, you can sit together with your family, but if the football is good enough, that helps. Do I think the club could do more? Absolutely."
Skinner is also focused on building a team that wins and continues to excel on the biggest stage. He shunned birthday celebrations as he turned 43 on Monday, so busy is he with preparing the team for a huge week.
He is aware of the bigger picture and that United Women can make the stage their own over the next eight days, but, like Henry and the supporters, he knows it is ultimately winning matches that will draw more eyeballs.
"The brand of Manchester United, the way we want to play, should always be attracting the next fan," he said. "The thing for us, though, is, honestly, if we spoke about that, we'd probably forget about how to defend certain parts of Bayern Munich.
"We focus on the primary things that we can control, but we're ambassadors for our fantastic club and for women's football in general. Manchester United is a big brand, so we're always trying to put that out.
"But I think the best way to do that is to perform to your best. And so that's what we're going to try and do against Bayern and City and Bayern again."