Man City, United to miss Prem’s opening weekend

Manchester United and Manchester City are set to miss the opening weekend of the Premier League after being granted an extended summer break following their European commitments, sources have told ESPN.

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The two Manchester clubs will be given a 30-day break between their final games of this season and the new campaign.

City lost to Lyon in the Champions League quarterfinals on August 15 while United were knocked out of the Europa League by Sevilla 24 hours later.

It means they are unlikely to have fixtures scheduled for the opening weekend of the Premier League season on September 12-13 and will instead play their first games two or three days later in midweek.

United’s players have been given two weeks off following their 2-1 defeat to Sevilla and are expected back in training early next month.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is hopeful of giving his squad a two-week preseason before playing their first game of the new season.

Both City and United are set to organise warm up games to help them prepare, although sources have told ESPN it is “unlikely” either will use preseason to schedule international friendlies.