Manchester United can send out a Europa League statement after fixture postponement

The postponement of Manchester United's scheduled trip to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon means it will be exactly two weeks since their last Premier League match by the time they face Leeds United this coming weekend.

It was confirmed on Saturday that the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II will take place next Monday, meaning there is a reasonable chance that the Premier League will resume this weekend, subject to the necessary police resources being available. The Queen died at Balmoral on Thursday, prompting the Premier League to postpone the weekend's fixtures as a mark of respect.

United will return to action on Thursday evening, facing Sheriff Tiraspol in their second Europa League group stage fixture. The Reds kicked off their European campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad at Old Trafford last week.

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As expected, manager Erik ten Hag, following the 3-1 win over Arsenal four days earlier, used the visit of Sociedad to make six changes to his starting line-up, handing opportunities to some players who had not earned as many minutes as they would have liked in recent weeks to prove their worth. Harry Maguire, Cristiano Ronaldo and summer signing Casemiro were among those to come into the side but they failed to have the desired impact, as United froze against, on paper, their toughest Group E opponents.

Despite losing their opening group game, the Reds, who will be hoping their clash with arch-rivals Leeds at Old Trafford on Sunday is given the green light to go ahead, are still favourites to win the group and advance to the knockout stages. However, there is a degree of pressure on Ten Hag and his players to get their first three