The Europa League also represents a come-down from the Champions League, which van Gaal’s side exited at the group stage when they lost 3-2 at Wolfsburg in their final fixture in December.
But United, who say have up-graded supporters who have bought tickets for the North Stand upper tier to other parts of the ground at no extra cost, are sticking to a policy they have implemented before in this competition.
In 2011/12, when Ferguson was manager, United kept the same part of the ground closed for home ties against Ajax and Athletic Bilbao.
The attendance for the Ajax game was 67,000, including 4,000 visitors, while the crowd to watch Bilbao was 59,265, including 7,000 away fans, as United lost as a prelude to their exit from the competition at the last-16 stage in Spain.
United will continue to monitor ticket sales to determine which areas of the ground to open for the visit of Midtjylland, who knocked out Southampton before the group stages.
Failing to fill Old Trafford to its 75,000 capacity, which would have been almost guaranteed for a Champions League fixture, will hit United in the pocket, as will a reduction in prize money available from £24 to £9.2m for the respective European competitions.
However, United could hope to recoup the missing gate receipts by enjoying a longer run in the Europa League, which also carries a prize of a place in next season’s Champions League for the winners of the final in Basel on 18 May.
- Telegraph