In their first preseason friendly against Leeds United on Wednesday afternoon at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Manchester United will be aiming to get off to a fast start.
United will be eager to start their preseason preparations off right against the Championship team after taking four points away from their opponents in the Premier League last season. The first of eight friendlies scheduled between now and the big kickoff in August is the trip to Norway.
Manager Erik ten Hag is expected to use the clash with Leeds to take a look at some of his fringe players and the younger members of the squad. Fifteen senior stars, including Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, will play no part after being granted an extended summer break because of international commitments last month.
Nevertheless, Ten Hag will want his side to make the most of their first friendly, both to build up their fitness levels and put what they have been working on at Carrington over the last few days into practice. The majority of the group reported back to the training ground at the start of last week, but only 26 of them will travel to Norway .
As is often the norm in pre-season nowadays, Ten Hag could choose to rotate his entire XI at half-time and hand out as many opportunities as possible throughout the 90 minutes.
Tom Heaton, a seasoned goalkeeper, was among the five goalkeepers seen taking part in practice last week and is anticipated to start between the posts. Since Dean Henderson isn’t on the traveling team, Nathan Bishop and Matej Kovar will compete with Heaton for playing time.
Ten Hag might list a back-four that combines youth and experience ahead of Heaton. In contention to start at right back and center back, respectively, are Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Raphael Varane, but Lisandro Martinez’s fitness levels are a little more in doubt following a recent injury.
In midfield, Ten Hag is highly likely to hand a start to Fred, who is one of the most experienced players to have been named in the travelling squad. He could be joined in the engine room by youngsters Hannibal Mejbri and Kobbie Mainoo, both of whom will be looking to impress over the next few weeks.
United are thin on the ground in attack, meaning Mason Mount could get his first appearance in United colours from the left-wing. Anthony Martial has not been included in the travelling squad, meaning Amad could be forced to start through the middle.
Antony has also failed to make the cut, meaning Jadon Sancho could start from the right.
