Who are the Mariners? - Man Utd face historic Grimsby Town in League Cup second round

Manchester United begin a rare early journey in the 2025/26 League Cup when the Red Devils visit Blundell Park on Wednesday at 21:00 CET to face League Two side Grimsby Town. 

The Manchester side are playing in the second round of the League Cup for the first time in more than a decade, unlike the big teams in the English football top flight who will start in the third round of the domestic championship. 

Amorim's side failed to qualify for any European competition last season after losing the Europa League final to Tottenham and recording one of the worst Premier League campaigns in the club's history, finishing in 15th place with 42 points, just two places above the relegation zone. 

Things do not seem to have changed, at least at the start of the season, for the Old Trafford side, who are winless in the first two Premier League matches, after suffering a narrow defeat to Arsenal in their opening game and being held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham at Craven Cottage in the second matchday.

Manchester United will therefore be looking to secure their first win of the 2025/26 campaign in a match in which they are clear favourites against a team with a long history in English football, Grimsby Town. 

Who are the Mariners?

Grimsby Town, founded in 1878 under the name Grimsby Pelham Football Club and renamed a year later, will seek to secure their place in the third round of the League Cup against Manchester United after beating Shrewsbury 3-1 in the first round of the tournament. 

Town, nicknamed the Mariners, refers directly to the city's rich seafaring and fishing heritage, which historically made it the largest fishing port in the world. The name also captures the club's crest, which features three trawlers, further connecting the club to Grimsby's important fishing industry.

The Mariners, who despite currently playing in League Two, are a historic English football club belonging to the county of Lincolnshire, which has a population of around 1,100,000. 

In fact, David Artell's team is the only one of the three in Lincolnshire (Lincoln City and Scunthorpe United) to have reached the semi-final of the FA Cup, having done so twice in the 1930s. 

Therefore, the Mariners will face the Red Devils in a cup competition, something which has not been unfamiliar to them historically, being the first team in FA Cup history to beat five teams from higher divisions after a 2-1 victory over Southampton, then a Premier League team, to advance to the quarter-finals, where they lost to Brighton and Hove Albion.

In addition, Grimsby Town is the only one of the three teams in the county to have played in the top flight of English football, and in 2010 it became the sixth club to compete in the top five divisions of English football alongside Wimbledon, Wigan Athletic, Carlisle United, Oxford United and Luton Town, something that Leyton Orient, Notts County and Oldham Athletic would later achieve.

The Town has started the season in style, remaining unbeaten in the first five games of League Two, with three wins and two draws respectively. Therefore, considering the team's form going into the match against Manchester United, its history in the competition and the poor form of the Mancunian side, no one is ruling out the Mariners defying the odds and advancing to the third round, something that manager David Artell spoke about before the big game. 

"It’s going to be a tough game, of course, they’re one of the most historic clubs and biggest brands in the whole world," he said. "After Real Madrid, they are probably the most recognisable club, so you don’t get much bigger in club football than Manchester United, and they are coming to little old Cleethorpes to turn out against us," he concluded.

For his part, Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said in a press conference that there would likely be several changes to his starting eleven to face the Mariners."We have three games this week, we have quality players, and we need to do rotation to try to win every game," he told reporters.

Possible lineups for the clash

Grimsby Town possible starting lineup: Pym; Rodgers, Warren, McJannet, Staunton; Amaluzor, McEachran, Turi, Khouri, Burns; Kabia

Manchester United possible starting lineup: Onana; Shaw, Fredricson, Maguire; Dalot, Mainoo, Ugarte, Dorgu; Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko