Manchester United travel to Moldova for a competitive match for the first time in their history on Thursday.
The Reds will search for their first three points of the Europa League group stage when they take on Sheriff Tiraspol, who produced a famous scalp against Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League. They defeated Cypriot outfit Omonoia 3-0 in their opening European fixture last week to top the table.
Sheriff remain undefeated domestically too, winning five of their opening seven matches in the Moldovan top-flight. But the hosts will not welcome United to their home ground for this week’s clash.
READ MORE: Manchester United could unleash new midfield in Europa League fixture vs Sheriff
Instead they will play at The Zimbru Stadium, the home of Zimbru Chisinau and the Moldova national team. The home side usually play their matches at Sheriff Stadium, located in Transnistria - a breakaway state which is not recognised internationally. And following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, UEFA stated that Sheriff cannot play their European games in the region.
A June statement read: "In light of the large-scale military escalation resulting in the invasion of the Ukrainian territory by the Russian army, the UEFA executive committee has today decided that no UEFA competition match shall be played in the region of Transnistria, in Moldova, until further notice.
"FC Sheriff Tiraspol have been invited to propose an alternative venue/stadium outside the region of Transnistria for its home matches in UEFA club competitions for as long as the prohibition to play in the region remains in force."
The Zimbru Stadium holds just under 10,500 spectators, of which around 600 will be United fans in what is expected to be a sell-out. England played at the ground for a World Cup qualifier in 2012 when former United stars Tom Cleverley, Michael Carrick and Danny Welbeck all featured in a 5-0 win.
United will be looking to register their first points in this year's Europa League competition after falling to an unexpected 1-0 home defeat to Real Sociedad last week.
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