Manchester United will have more than 40,000 digital fans cheering them on during their home clash with Sheffield United on Wednesday.
With all Premier League matches taking place behind closed doors for the remainder of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the club have created a ‘giant mosaic’ of fans’ faces around the ground.
Supporters from more than 190 countries have sent in digital images of themselves which will be shown in upper tiers of the ground and parts of the lower tiers in the east stand and Sir Alex Ferguson stand.
The Red Devils will play at Old Trafford for the first time in three months in a crunch match against top-four rivals Sheffield United, which is LIVE on talkSPORT from 6pm.
They are five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, while the Blades could leapfrog Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side with a win.
It will be the first competitive match at Old Trafford since United secured a 2-0 win over arch rivals Man City on March 8.
United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has welcomed the innovative move at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’.
He said: “We hope the mosaic will provide inspiration to the team as a reminder of the hundreds of millions cheering them on from home.
“As a banner in the Stretford End tonight declares, quoting Sir Matt Busby, ‘football is nothing without fans,’ and we can’t wait for you to return to Old Trafford as soon as it is safe to do so.
“Until then, the players will strive to retain the spirit of that pulsating win against Manchester City when we were last together and the momentum they had created before the enforced break.”
United will honour club legend Tony Dunne with a minute’s silence before the Sheffield United match.
The Irish full-back, who made 535 appearances for the club in a 13-year spell from 1960, died at the age of 78 earlier this month.
Dunne played a crucial role in the club’s 1968 European Cup triumph when they beat Benfica 4-1 at Wembley.
