Opposition guide: Get to know RC Lens

Erik ten Hag’s Reds will come up against the Ligue 1 runners-up at the Theatre of Dreams, with kick-off at 12:45 BST in a game that will also be screened live on MUTV.

Get to know United’s next opponents a bit more in just a few short minutes with our guide…

HOW DID THEY GET ON LAST SEASON?

The club exceeded expectations to finish second in Ligue 1 in 2022/23, finishing just a solitary point behind champions Paris Saint-Germain after losing just four of their 38 league games. In doing so, they will join United in the Champions League group stage and it’s only the third time they have qualified for Europe’s premier competition in their history after 1998/99 and 2002/03. Meanwhile, in the Coupe de France, which is France’s main cup competition, they reached the quarter-finals, where they lost 2-1 to eventual winners of the trophy Nantes.

However, since then, they have lost two of their star players as 19-goal top scorer Lois Openda has made a big-money move to German outfit RB Leipzig and their captain Seko Fofana has moved to Saudi Arabia, with the Ivorian midfielder linking up with former United star Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr.