Why are Man Utd Women playing PSV in Sweden?
- Published
Manchester United have to navigate an unusual qualification process to reach the main draw of the Women's Champions League.
The tournament has a new format after Uefa expanded the group stage of the competition from 16 to 18 teams for 2025-26.
Chelsea qualified directly by winning the Women's Super League, while Arsenal qualified by triumphing in the Women's Champions League.
Manchester United however have to qualify for the competition after finishing behind Chelsea and Arsenal in the league last season.
Marc Skinner's side have never qualified for the main draw of the Women's Champions League.
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Why are they playing in Sweden?
There are four mini tournaments taking place in Sweden, the Czech Republic, Italy and Austria in the league path of qualification.
In Manchester United's group, Stockholm-based side Hammarby were selected as hosts, with games taking place at the 28,000-seater 3Arena.
The Swedish side reached the group stage of the competition in 2024-25, finishing third in their group beneath Barcelona and Manchester City.
Mini tournaments are also taking place in Slovenia, Cyprus, Belgium and Albania in the champions path.
Why is kick-off at 11am?
The meeting between United and PSV is kicking-off at 12:00 local time, meaning a 11:00 BST kick-off.
The decision is due to Hammarby hosting both matches of each round of the tournament at their stadium on the same day.
Should United lose to PSV and go into the third-place play-off for a Europa Cup spot, that would also be a 12:00 local time kick-off.
On the decision, Uefa said: "The kick-off times for the mini-tournament matches are set by the host club in coordination with their national association, and in line with the competition regulations.
"In this case, Hammarby is responsible for scheduling the fixtures.
"As both matches will be held at Hammarby's main stadium, the club ensured sufficient time between games to accommodate logistical requirements, including the possibility of extra time and penalty shoot-outs."
How does qualifying work?
The qualification stage is split into two mini tournaments - a 'champions path' and a 'league path'.
United are in the league path, and start their qualification process in the second round with a one-off mini tournament in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Red Devils face Dutch side PSV Eindhoven in the semi-finals, and will face the winner of Sweden's Hammarby and Ukraine's Metalist Kharkiv in the final three days later.
If they win the tournament, United will advance to the third round of qualifying and play in a two-legged tie to reach the main league phase.
But should Skinner's side fail to win the mini tournament, they would drop down into qualifying for the inaugural Women's Europa Cup.
The first leg of third-round qualifying will be played on 11 September and the second on 18 September.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
Summer signing Fridolina Rolfo is expected to be unavailable for the games in Sweden
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