Two European juggernauts seeking to continue their prefect start to pre-season will face off in a friendly at NRG Stadium in Texas on Wednesday as Real Madrid take on Manchester United.
The last time that these two sides butted heads was in August 2018 when the Red Devils secured a 2-1 friendly win over Los Blancos in Miami thanks to goals from Alexis Sanchez and Ander Herrera.
Match preview
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Real Madrid were staring down the barrel of defeat in their pre-season opener on Monday as Italian giants AC Milan put themselves two goals in front at the break courtesy of a close-range header from Fikayo Tomori and a wonder strike from Luka Romero.
However, Los Blancos valiantly fought back to turn the game on its head and secure a 3-2 victory at the Rose Bowl in California, with Federico Valverde capitalising on a goalkeeping blunder and a defensive mishap to net a brace before Vinicius Junior, donning his new No.7 shirt, tucked away the winning strike six minutes from time.
Preparing for life without Ballon d'Or winner and star striker Karim Benzema, Carlo Ancelotti decided to use a 4-4-2 diamond formation against his former club Milan and he was able to take positives from the experiment, with big-money summer signing Jude Bellingham receiving plenty of plaudits from the Italian manager after making his debut.
Despite coming up short in the La Liga title race to Barcelona and losing out in the Champions League semi-finals to eventual winners Manchester City, Real Madrid still came away from last season with the Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup. However, Ancelotti is hoping that his side, with or without any additional summer arrivals amid links with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, can mount a serious challenge on all fronts in 2023-24.
After facing Man United, Real Madrid will lock horns with La Liga rivals Barcelona in Texas and Juventus in Florida before returning to Spain for their opening league fixture of the new season away against Athletic Bilbao on August 12.
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Three wins out of three without conceding a single goal. Man United manager Erik ten Hag is understandably pleased with his side's bright start to pre-season having come out on top in friendlies against Leeds United, Lyon and Arsenal this summer.
After recording 2-0 and 1-0 victories over Leeds and Lyon respectively, the Red Devils put Mikel Arteta's side to the sword 2-0 in New Jersey last Saturday courtesy of first-half goals from newly-appointed captain Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho, before winning 5-3 in an exhibition penalty shootout.
Ten Hag has encouraged his United side to develop into a "pressing machine" and take advantage of the friendly fixtures on the horizon ahead of the new season, while he has also set the bar high for a number of the club's highly-rated youngsters including Kobbie Mainoo if they wish to stake a claim for a regular place in the first-team squad.
Man United are hoping to build on last season's efforts which saw them claim third spot in the Premier League, finishing 14 points behind champions Manchester City, and end their six-year trophy drought by lifting the EFL Cup in February. The Red Devils also reached the FA Cup final, losing to their treble-winning city rivals, and marked a year away from Champions League football with a quarter-final exit in the Europa League.
Ten Hag's men will follow up their friendly clash against Real Madrid with encounters against Borussia Dortmund, Lens and Athletic Bilbao, before kicking off the new Premier League season at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 14.
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Team News
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Real Madrid's only injury concern is with midfielder Dani Ceballos, who has been ruled out until September after sustaining a thigh injury in training last week.
Ancelotti is expected to stick with the aforementioned 4-4-2 diamond formation, but there could be a few alterations in personnel, with either Joselu or Brahim Diaz – two new recruits this summer – potentially making way for Vinicius Junior.
Thibaut Courtois, Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba and Luke Modric also began as substitutes last time out and they will all be pushing to start on Thursday.
As for Man United, midfielder Fred is yet to participate in pre-season due to a personal issue and he is unlikely to feature against Los Blancos, while left-back Tyrell Malacia is ruled out with a thigh injury.
However, Anthony Martial is scheduled to return to full training ahead of Thursday's match following a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring problem, and the French forward may be in a position to play in some capacity against Real Madrid, while Amad Diallo has played down concerns about his ankle issue picked up against Arsenal, although he is a doubt for Thursday.
Ten Hag could hand goalkeeper Andre Onana his Man United debut following his £47.2m move from Inter Milan last week, while former Los Blancos duo Casemiro and Raphael Varane may start in midfield and defence respectively.
While Man United continue to search for a new centre-forward in the transfer market, Sancho could retain his place as a makeshift striker, but Ten Hag will consider recalling last season's top scorer Marcus Rashford, which could allow Sancho to move across to either flank at the expense of either Antony or Alejandro Garnacho.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Kroos; Valverde, Modric; Bellingham; Joselu, Vinicius
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Mount; Antony, Fernandes, Sancho; Rashford
We say: Real Madrid 2-2 Manchester United
Thursday's result is of little importance to either team, but Ten Hag and Ancelotti are still determined to see a positive performance from their players against a fellow top European side as they edge closer to the new campaign.
While Man United have shown their resilience at the back so far this summer, we can see a new-look Real Madrid finding the net in an entertaining score draw at NRG Stadium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
