Manchester United chief executive Omar Berada has disputed the number of midweek home games the Premier League will play between now and Christmas. United welcome Brighton and Hove Albion to Old Trafford on Saturday night.
After facing Fabian Hürzeler’s side, United will not play another home game at the weekend until Friday’s Boxing Day clash with Newcastle United. All of United’s matches at Old Trafford in the run-up to Christmas will be played in the midweek slot, with kick-offs in the evening.
According to reports, Berrada has contacted the Premier League to “express his concerns” about the poor performance. The Athletic understands Berrada’s discussions with league officials to have been “constructive”, with United’s chief executive “stressing the cultural importance of fans at matches to the fabric of the English game, and reportedly urging the Premier League to finalize a decision on television broadcasts sooner to allow supporters to make their Christmas plans around kick-off time.”
Verrada’s conversations with Premier League officials clearly indicate that the club is responding to the concerns of United supporters, after supporters’ representatives recently expressed dissatisfaction with this season’s schedule. They believe that fans attending matches have endured a series of unfavorable fixtures in terms of the volume of home games scheduled for midweek, and the United Fans Forum expressed this sentiment in a letter to the club, to which the club responded with its own letter.
The Reds are one of several Premier League clubs to have backed an increase in Monday and Friday night matches, a centerpiece of the new broadcast deal. There were also suggestions that this would be a solution to the expansion of European schedules, including a record number of clubs taking part in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
United failed to qualify for these continental competitions this season. However, last season they played 15 games in the Europa League, losing 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in the final, and were fully affected by the extended schedule.
Ruben Amorim is aiming for a hat-trick in the Premier League as he hosts Brighton. The Portuguese manager finally achieved back-to-back Premier League titles as United beat Liverpool 2-1 away.
Victory against the reigning champions and a 2-0 home win against Sunderland lifted United into ninth place. They are due to visit on Saturday and are one point ahead of Brighton, who have already won against Chelsea and Manchester City this season.
Amorim revealed there are concerns about the fitness of Harry Maguire and Mason Mount ahead of the match against the Seasiders. “There are some questions, we’ve had some issues with Harry Maguire and Mason Mount this week. Well, nothing serious but we’ll see tomorrow,” the United manager explained.
“Lisha (Lisandro Martínez) was out. He was training really well. He was on the next pitch and I was watching. He is training very well and his knee is good, but I don’t want to say a specific week (until he returns). After that, it will be up to Lisha whether he takes the spot or not.”
