MANCHESTER UNITED and Tottenham could find their pre-season plans ruined – by Watford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Co are set to take on Spurs in Shanghai, China on July 25 as part of their 2019-20 preparations.
However, with United finishing sixth in the league this season, they may have a Europa League qualifier that day.
The Red Devils would compete in a play-off to enter Europe's second-tier on July 25 should Watford beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final next month.
In that instance, should the Hornets get the better of Pep Guardiola's giants they will be granted the seeded position into the Europa League.
That would mean Watford would jump straight into the tournament's group stage, leaving the Premier League's sixth-placed side to compete a two-legged qualifier.
Man Utd's provisional pre-season fixtures
July 13 – Perth Glory (Perth)
July 17 – Leeds United (Perth)
July 20 – Inter Milan (Singapore)
July 25 – Tottenham (Singapore)
August 3 – AC Milan (Cardiff)
And not only would their big pay day against Spurs be ruined, United's whole pre-season would be focused on simply qualifying for the Europa League.
The Red Devils would enter the competition in the second qualifying round and have to win three two-legged games just to progress to the group stage.
This path is the same one taken by Burnley last season.
Sean Dyche's men were victorious over Aberdeen and Istanbul Basaksehir before falling in the play-off round to Olympiakos.
The Clarets then found themselves in the relegation zone on just 12 points in December, which many think was a result of the arduous Europa League qualifying campaign.
So while they would never admit it, Solskjaer and Woodward may just be hoping another trophy heads across Manchester to the Etihad this weekend.
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