Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain will complete their preparations for their respective new campaigns with an International Champions Cup match in Chicago on Thursday morning UK time.
United have won all three of their pre-season games in the United States this month, but PSG will enter the match off the back of a defeat to Chelsea on penalties last time out.
Man United
© BBC
Louis van Gaal enjoyed a fruitful first pre-season in charge of United last summer, but the Reds were then beaten in their first game of the new Premier League season at home to Swansea City. It has been another impressive pre-season this time around, and Van Gaal will now be desperate for his side to take their performances into the new campaign, starting with Tottenham Hotspur at home on August 8.
United have played three pre-season games since pitching up in the United States. On July 18, they opened with a 1-0 win over Club America, before Memphis Depay hit his first goal for the club in a 3-1 victory over MLS outfit San Jose Earthquakes four days later.
A step up in class was provided on Saturday as Van Gaal's side faced European champions Barcelona, but the same outcome occurred as United recorded an impressive 3-1 victory. Their new signings have bedded in quickly and with more expected to be on the way, there are plenty of reasons for supporters to be optimistic ahead of the new season.
A return to the Champions League – the playoff stage at least – was secured last season, which was Van Gaal's task when he took charge. Now the team will be expected to challenge for the league title once again, but the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal will have something to say about that.
Each pre-season match has taken on a new level of importance, and that will again rise here in United's final fixture before facing Spurs in their league opener on August 8. It has been a fairly short trip when taking into account the number of games that were previously played, but there is no question that the tour has been an overwhelming success thus far.
Recent form: DDWWW
PSG
© Getty Images
In truth, PSG's hopes for the new season are quite simple. Of course retain the league title and the French Cups, but improvement in the Champions League is the name of the game for the Ligue 1 champions. They managed to squeeze past Chelsea in the knockout stage last season, but their journey was ended by Barcelona.
The restrictions of FFP had threatened to harm their challenge moving forward, but with the rules now loosened somewhat, PSG are free to open their deep pockets once again. A move for United's Angel di Maria is believed to be close to completion, and could indeed be announced before this match, which would make another interesting side-story.
PSG's pre-season thus far has been fairly impressive, but they did technically lose to Chelsea on Saturday evening. The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes, before the Premier League side won the penalty shootout. Before that, the French side had beaten both Benfica and Fiorentina.
In terms of looking forward, this is also PSG's final friendly before the start of competitive action. Indeed, they are in action on Saturday in the French Super Cup against Lyon, before opening their Ligue 1 title defence away to Lille on August 7. The 2014-15 campaign seems to have only just finished, but the start of the new season is almost upon us.
On paper, PSG's XI can now match-up with most of the major players in European football. Di Maria's expected arrival will only further boost their prospects in the new season, but the importance of this friendly cannot be downplayed. It is a further chance to prove fitness with places up for grabs in Laurent Blanc's first-choice side this term.
Recent form: WWWWL
Team News
© Getty Images
Van Gaal's selection for this match is going to be fascinating. Bastian Schweinsteiger missed the Barcelona clash at the weekend with a slight injury, but after returning to training, is expected to start in a bid to prove his fitness ahead of the all-important Spurs clash.
Elsewhere, fit-again Antonio Valencia could replace Matteo Darmian at right-back, but it is expected to be the same front four that faced Barca, with Ashley Young and Juan Mata operating wide of Depay and Wayne Rooney.
Javier Hernandez could also be given a chance to prove his worth after joining up with the squad earlier this week.
As for PSG, Thiago Silva, Edinson Cavani and Salvatore Sirigu are all expected to return to the XI after starting the Chelsea game on the bench.
Like Van Gaal, Blanc is expected to name his strongest possible XI in a bid to boost fitness, but fringe players Lucas Moura and Adrien Rabiot have also been tipped to start.
Man United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Blind, Shaw; Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin; Young, Depay, Mata; Rooney
PSG possible starting lineup:
Sirigu; Van der Wiel, Luiz, Silva, Maxwell; Matuidi, Verratti, Rabiot; Cavani, Ibrahimovic, Lucas
Head To Head
Somewhat surprisingly, this will be the first time that these two clubs have met in any competition.
However, with PSG's rising European pedigree, the pair are bound to see plenty of each other in the future.
We say: Man United 2-2 PSG
Pre-season matches are always full of experiments and changes, but with both teams closing on the new season, there should be two strong XIs taking to the field.
There are just too many talented players on display, especially in the final third, not to see goals and we are backing an open and entertaining 2-2 draw in Chicago.
No Data Analysis info
