Referee

Deniz Aytekin has been appointed referee for the game between Manchester United and Club Burgge. He will be assisted by assistant referees Guido Kleve and Markus Häcker. Daniel Siebert and Benjamin Brand are the assistants behind the goalline. Frank Willenborg is the game official. Dutchamn Jaap Uilenberg is the UEFA Referee Observer, the Hongarian Sándor Berzi the UEFA Delegate.

The 37-year-olf Aytekin has been a referee in Germany since 2004. He lives in Oberasbach, near Nürnberg, and is economist by education and manager for a living. Aytekin is a UEFA Referee since 2011 and has progressed quickly. In the Winter of last year he promoted to the pool of 22 Elite Referees.

Deniz Aytekin has once before whistled a Club Brugge game. On 30 August 2012 he was the man in black when Club Brugge hosted Debreceni VSC for a spot in the UEFA Europa League Group Stage (4-1). In 2013 he refereed Belgium's WC qualification game at Macedonia (0-2).

It will be the 25th time Club Brugge play a European game with a German referee.

Opponent

Club Brugge's daunting task to reach the UEFA Champions League Group Stage brings them face to face with Manchester United FC. The club was founded in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR and was only given it's current name in 1902.

Manchester is the Premier League most successful team with twenty titles, eleven FA Cup victories, four League Cup and twenty Community Shield wins. The club performed excellent in Europe as well having won the European Cup on three occassions (1968, 1999, 2008), the 1991 Cup Winners' Cup and the 1991 Super Cup.

The Reds finished fourth last season, nevertheless it was a year - for the first time in 25 years - where they didn't have to play European fixtures. This Summer the Mancunians played the International Champions Cup Tournament in the United States, beating Mexican Club América 1-0, San Jose Earthquakes and FC Barcelona 3-1. French outfit Paris Saint-Germain was too strong for Manchester: 2-0.

On the first fixture of the Barclays Premier League, the Red Devils have beaten Tottenham Hotspur FC 1-0 at Old Trafford. The second fixture, last Friday, resulted in another 1-0 win. This time away against Aston Villa. Belgian Red Devil Adnan Januzaj's goal at Villa Park was enough to bag the three points.

Since last year Dutch manager Louis van Gaal is at the helm at Manchester United. Since his arrival the club has spent millions on new players. This Summer Matteo Darmian (last year with Torino FC the opponent of Club), Bastian Schweinsteiger (FC Bayern Munich), Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton), Sergio Romero (Sampdoria), Memphis Depay (PSV) and Guillermo Varela (Real Madrid) signed a deal at the club.

Game

Club Brugge never faced Manchester United before, apart from a friendly in 2013 when Club were beaten 1-0 by Manchester's U21 side.

Club Brugge midfielder Ruud Vormer will be able to have a chat with Louis van Gaal. Both were active at AZ Alkmaar during the 2007-08 season.

Manchester have a few Belgians in their squad, with midfielders Marouane Fellaini and Adnan Januzaj as the most well-known of them.

The Red Devils have quite a few internationals in their squad: defenders Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, midfielders Michael Carrick and Luke Shaw and forward Wayne Rooney play for the English national team. Goalkeepers David de Gea (Spain) and Sergio Romero (Argentina) and defenders Marco Rojo (Argentina), Matteo Darmian (Italy) and Jonny Evans (Northern Ireland) defend the honour of their country. Midfielders Memphis Depay and Daley Blind (Netherlands), Adnan Januzaj and Marouane Fellaini (Belgium), Antonio Valencia (Ecuador), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) and forward Javier Hernández (Mexico) complete this impressive list.

This will be Manchester United's 319th Europan game and only the 284th for Club Brugge. It will be the 97th encounter between an English and a Belgian side and the 21st time for Club to face an English opponent. For Manchester United it's only the second Belgian team they face after having played RSC Anderlecht four times in the past.

Manchester United's season start:

Sa 08-08 13:45 Premier League Manchester United FC - Tottenham Hotspur FC 1-0 Fr 14-08 20:45 Premier League Aston Villa FC - Manchester United FC 0-1 Tu 18-08 20:45 UEFA Champions League Manchester United FC - Club Brugge KV Sa 22-08 13:45 Premier League Manchester United FC - Newcastle United FC We 26-08 20:45 UEFA Champions League Club Brugge KV - Manchester United FC

The return game at Jan Breydel will be played on Wednesday 26 August.