Manchester United will be looking to seriously challenge for the Premier League title in the 2021-22 campaign, with the club again making progress last term under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The 20-time English champions finished 12 points behind the champions Manchester City in 2020-21, but second position was certainly a huge step in the right direction, and they outperformed the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur to claim the runners-up spot.
Solskjaer has been backed with new signings in the current market, so there will be pressure on the Norwegian to oversee a title challenge during what is shaping up to be a fascinating campaign.
The return of supporters should help Man United's home form, which was disappointing during stages of last season, while they will be determined to continue their impressive run of results on the road.
Here, Sports Mole previews the team's 2021-22 campaign and takes an in-depth look at what the supporters can expect during the course of the season.
FIXTURES
Man United will open their 2021-22 Premier League campaign with a home game against Leeds United on August 14 before finishing the month with trips to Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Red Devils, on paper, have a kind start to the campaign, but they have a difficult October, taking on Everton, Leicester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
Meanwhile, November will bring fixtures against Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal, and Solskjaer's side will know that they need to keep pace with the leaders in the early months if they are to seriously challenge.
Man United's second league Manchester derby of the season will come at the Etihad Stadium at the start of March, before facing Tottenham, Liverpool, Leicester and Everton in their next four fixtures.
The team's final home league game of the season is against Chelsea in the middle of May, which could be a huge fixture in terms of the title race, while Solskjaer's side will finish away to Crystal Palace.
> Click here to see all of Man United's 2021-22 fixtures
SUMMER SIGNINGS
In
Tom Heaton (free, Aston Villa)
Jadon Sancho (£76.5m, Borussia Dortmund)
Raphael Varane (£42m, Real Madrid)
Out
Nathan Bishop (loan, Mansfield Town)
Sergio Romero (released)
Joel Pereira (free, RKC Waalwijk)
Reece Devine (loan, St Johnstone)
Tahith Chong (loan, Birmingham City)
Di'Shon Bernard (loan, Hull City)
Will Fish (loan, Stockport County)
Max Taylor (free, Rochdale)
Facundo Pellistri (loan, Alaves)
Axel Tuanzebe (loan, Aston Villa)
Manchester United total spent to date: £118.5m
Manchester United total received to date: £0m
Manchester United net transfer balance: -£118.5m
SQUAD
Goalkeepers: David de Gea, Dean Henderson, Lee Grant, Tom Heaton
Defenders: Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Harry Maguire, Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw, Alex Telles, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams, Teden Mengi, Raphael Varane
Midfielders: Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira, Fred, Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo, Daniel James, Nemanja Matic, Donny van de Beek, James Garner, Scott McTominay, Hannibal Mejbri, Shola Shoretire
Forwards: Edinson Cavani, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga
> Click here for full details of Man United's 2021-22 squad
STRONGEST XI
STAR PLAYER - BRUNO FERNANDES
Man United have made two standout signings this summer in the shape of Sancho and Varane, but it is difficult to look past Fernandes when it comes to this particular category. The attacker has been a stunning signing for the Red Devils, scoring 40 times and registering 25 assists in 80 outings in all competitions.
Last term, the 26-year-old scored 28 goals and registered 17 assists in 58 appearances in all competitions, including 18 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League, which are brilliant numbers for an attacking midfielder.
Fernandes found it difficult to make his mark for Portugal at Euro 2020, but his skill set and personality make him a crucial figure for the 20-time English champions, and there is no question that the club will again be looking to him to help them through difficult moments over the next 10 months.
MANAGER - OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER
Towards the end of July, it was announced that Solskjaer had signed a new three-year contract at Old Trafford, and there is no question that the club have progressed since the 48-year-old's arrival.
The Norwegian is yet to deliver any silverware, but the Red Devils have finished third and second in their last two Premier League campaigns, and a title challenge is expected this term.
There are still question marks over whether Solskjaer is capable of leading the team back to the top, but there have been a number of positives since he took the reins, and he has been backed in this summer's transfer window, which is an indication of how the club feel about his time at the helm.
LAST SEASON - SECOND
Man United finished the 2020-21 campaign without any silverware, but they made the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, semi-finals of the EFL Cup and final of the Europa League, having failed to make it out of the group stage of the Champions League.
In the Premier League, the Red Devils finished second, winning 21, drawing 11 and losing six of their 38 matches to collect 74 points; they were 12 points behind the champions Man City but comfortably made the top four, finishing eight points clear of fifth-placed Leicester City.
Solskjaer's side scored 73 Premier League goals last term - the second-best record in the division behind Man City - while no team lost fewer times in England's top flight in 2020-21, which is a mark of the progress that the club are making, having largely struggled since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure.
Man United were top of the Premier League in January, but they dropped to second position at the end of the month and never really looked capable of finishing above Man City as the season continued to progress.
The 20-time English champions actually lost two of their final four league games of the season to Leicester and Liverpool, before being held by already-relegated Fulham at Old Trafford, but they finished with a 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers ahead of the Europa League final.
PREDICTION
Man United will be expected to launch a strong challenge for this season's Premier League title, and we expect that to be the case, with Man City, Liverpool and the Red Devils potentially all being bunched up.
Man City will be incredibly strong once again and are undoubtedly the favourites, but it could be one of the most fascinating title races in years, with Chelsea also being in the argument, and we cannot see past the four teams mentioned for the Champions League positions.
Ultimately, though, we think that Solskjaer's side will just fall short, with Man City and Liverpool potentially taking the top two spots and Man United finishing a close third, but it would not be a surprise to see any of our predicted top four end the campaign at the summit.
VERDICT: THIRD body check tags ::
