HOW OLD TRAFFORD WILL LOOK FOR OUR FIRST HOME GAME AFTER LOCKDOWN

Manchester United are set to stage a first home league game in over three months when we welcome Sheffield United to Old Trafford this Wednesday (18:00 BST kick-off).

With no fans allowed inside the Theatre of Dreams, things will look very different for our TV audience. With that in mind, here’s what you can expect to see while watching from home…

In line with Premier League guidance, United has installed ‘seat wraps’ all around Old Trafford to enhance the look of the stadium for games played behind closed doors.

As well as the lower tier ‘wrap’ seen in other stadiums, more than 40,000 fans from over 190 countries sent in digital images of themselves to help the club create a giant mosaic of fan faces that features across the upper tiers of the stadium, plus parts of the lower tiers in the East Stand and the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.

We have also used the traditional red, white and black bar scarf worn by many United fans as a visual theme on large banners stretching around the ground.

Other features include:

• A ‘United for the Heroes’ banner across the lower tier of the Sir Alex Ferguson stand, in recognition of the health and care staff, key workers and volunteers who have served our communities during the coronavirus pandemic in Manchester and around the world.

• Messages declaring ‘United Against Racism’ and promoting the club’s own HATRED campaign against all forms of discrimination will be on display in the North-East and North-West quadrants, proclaiming the club’s strong commitment to diversity and inclusion.

• Banners in the Stretford End in solidarity with our fans, created in discussion with the The Red Army fan group, whose members normally populate that end of Old Trafford. One of the banners will include a famous quote from Sir Matt Busby, declaring that, ‘Football is nothing without fans’ while another will say, ‘we can’t wait to welcome you home to Old Trafford’.