Manchester United will play their penultimate pre-season match of the summer in Oslo, Norway on Saturday afternoon, with La Liga giants Atletico Madrid their opponents at Ullevaal Stadium. The Red Devils will then be in action against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford on Sunday, while Atletico will take on Cadiz and Juventus in their final two friendly fixtures after this contest with Erik ten Hag’s side. Man United took part in four matches during their pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia, opening their preparations for the 2022-23 campaign with a 4-0 victory over bitter rivals Liverpool in Bangkok on July 12. United will fly to Oslo, Norway, where they will play at the Ullevaal Stadion, the national team ground. It will be a quick turnaround for United, as they’re against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford the following afternoon.
The Red Devils then played three times in Australia, beating Melbourne Victory 4-1 and Crystal Palace 3-1 in Melbourne before travelling to Perth, where they played out a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa. Man United also faced Wrexham in a behind-closed-doors contest on Wednesday afternoon, recording a 4-1 victory over the Welsh outfit, with Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez making their debuts for the club, while Raphael Varane was also involved after his fitness problems on tour. The 20-time English champions have now signed three players this summer, with Eriksen and Martinez following Tyrell Malacia to Old Trafford, but the club continue to work on new additions, with Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong still a target despite the Dutchman’s apparent desire to remain at Camp Nou.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been back at Carrington this week for talks over his future, but it is believed that the situation remains unchanged; the Portuguese wants to leave, but Man United insist that he is not for sale. Man United will take on Atletico and Rayo in a quick-fire double before having a full week of training ahead of their 2022-23 Premier League opener against Brighton & Hove Albion on August 7, with Ten Hag looking to make the perfect start to his time at the helm. Atletico are well behind Man United in terms of their preparations for the new season, with the Red and Whites only playing their first friendly of the summer against Numancia on Wednesday.
Thomas Lemar, Angel Correa, Rodrigo De Paul and Matheus Cunha were on the scoresheet for Diego Simeone’s side in the 4-0 win, and they now have three more friendlies in the diary against Man United, Cadiz and Juventus before beginning their 2022-23 La Liga campaign against Getafe on August 15. Atletico finished third in La Liga last season, some 15 points behind the champions Real Madrid, while they reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League by eliminating Man United in the round of 16, but the capital outfit lost to Manchester City in the final eight. Colchoneros announced the signing of Nahuel Molina from Udinese on Thursday, with the defender following Samuel Lino and Axel Witsel to Wanda Metropolitano this summer.
There remains uncertainty surrounding the futures of the likes of Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann, while the club have been linked with Ronaldo, but the team’s president Enrique Cerezo recently said that it was “practically impossible” for Atletico to sign him this summer. Man United are yet to release their squad list for this match, but it is understood that a largely first-team outfit will travel to Norway for this game, with a second-string side facing Rayo on Sunday. Martinez and Eriksen could make their official debuts for the Red Devils in this game, with the pair potentially being involved off the bench in the second period. The 28,000 seater stadium should witness an interesting game, which kicks off at 12:45 BST. Full international kick-off times can be viewed here.
With two games in two days and Diego Simeone’s men being the first test, it’s likely that we’ll see two completely different teams from Ten Hag. It has been widely reported that a stronger XI will be seen in Norway, while a weaker side will feature at Old Trafford. This could likely mean that we see a similar starting line-up to what we’ve got used to in pre-season, with a front three of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho spearheading the attack. Although, the two new faces in Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez could also be involved after both getting minutes under their belt at Carrington on Wednesday.
Ten Hag will have his eyes on next weekend’s clash with Brighton, so the XI that the Dutchman has in mind for that match might take to the field here, with Anthony Martial set to lead the line with support from Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, while Scott McTominay should return in midfield after a slight injury. Varane came through the clash with Wrexham unscathed and could also start, but Ronaldo is unlikely to be involved amid the ongoing speculation surrounding his future. As for Atletico, Mario Hermoso is an injury doubt with the ankle problem that he picked up against Numancia, while the match is likely to come too soon for Joao Felix, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury.
There will be changes from the side that started the team’s first friendly of the summer, with Griezmann, Marcos Llorente, Koke, Witsel and Renan Lodi potentially coming into the side. Witsel could play alongside Koke in the middle of midfield, with Yannick Carrasco in a wide position, while Molina is pushing to be involved, having officially joined the club on Thursday afternoon. It was three wins and a draw for the Reds, before they returned to Carrington to play a behind-closed-doors friendly against National League side Wrexham. A run out was given to the youngsters and United won 4-1, with new signing Christian Eriksen on the scoresheet. This could be the biggest test of Ten Hag’s side so far ahead of their Premier League curtain opener.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Dalot, Maguire, Varane, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Wass, Gimenez, Savic, Lodi; Llorente, Koke, Witsel, Carrasco; Griezmann, Correa
