Manchester United will continue their preparations for the 2024-25 campaign with a pre-season friendly against Scottish giants Rangers in Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Devils suffered a 1-0 loss to Rosenborg in their opening pre-season fixture on Monday, while Rangers were beaten 2-1 by Ajax in their first friendly of the summer last weekend.
Match preview
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Man United head coach Erik ten Hag was critical of his side's performance against Rosenborg on Monday, with the Red Devils needing their goalkeeper Radek Vitek to keep the score down, while the Norwegian outfit also hit the woodwork on four separate occasions before registering the winner in the final exchanges.
The 20-time English champions will continue their preparations for the new season against Rangers on Saturday before heading to the United States for their pre-season tour, which will involve glamour friendlies against Arsenal, Real Betis and Liverpool.
Man United will then take on Manchester City in the Community Shield on August 10 before opening their new Premier League season against Fulham six days later.
Joshua Zirkzee was confirmed as the club's first signing of the INEOS era, and he has been followed to Old Trafford by Leny Yoro, with a deal for the 18-year-old announced on Thursday night.
Man United finished eighth in the Premier League last season - their worst-ever display in the competition's current format - but they qualified for the group stage of the 2024-25 Europa League courtesy of their 2-1 success over Man City in the FA Cup final at the end of May.
Ten Hag is staying, with the Dutchman seeing his contract extended until June 2026, but there is huge pressure on the 54-year-old to oversee a big improvement during the coming season.
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Rangers, meanwhile, started their preparations for the 2024-25 campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Ajax last weekend, with Tom Lawrence on the scoresheet for the Scottish giants.
Philippe Clement's side will face Man United, Birmingham City and Union Berlin in their final three friendlies of the summer before opening their 2024-25 Scottish Premiership season against Hearts on August 3.
Rangers finished second in the Scottish Premiership last term, eight points behind the champions Celtic, but they did manage to win the Scottish League Cup and were also present in the last-16 stage of the Europa League.
The Gers have been busy this summer in terms of both incomings and outgoings, with their biggest arrival proving to be Mohamed Diomande from Nordsjaelland.
Rangers have tackled Man United on four previous occasions in competitive matches, with all of those fixtures taking place in the Champions League, and the English giants have triumphed three times, including a 1-0 success when the pair last locked horns in November 2010.
Team News
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Rangers were given a huge boost in their clash with Ajax last time out, as Danilo returned to action for the first time since picking up a serious knee injury last December.
Head coach Clement is again expected to select a strong XI for the first whistle before making changes at the interval, so the likes of Jack Butland, Connor Goldson, Diomande and Lawrence should be in the side.
Connor Barron is another new arrival this summer, making the move to Ibrox from Aberdeen, and the 21-year-old should be given the nod in central midfield.
Cyriel Dessers scored 22 times for Rangers during an impressive 2023-24 campaign, and the 28-year-old is expected to feature in the final third of the field, but James Tavernier, Todd Cantwell and Nico Raskin will miss the contest due to injury problems.
As for Man United, Altay Bayindir, Diogo Dalot, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Rasmus Hojlund, Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellistri remain unavailable for selection due to international commitments over the summer.
Tyrell Malacia is not yet available, as he works his way back from a serious knee injury, but Harry Maguire could be fit, while Andre Onana, Victor Lindelof, Amad Diallo and Antony could feature, having been left out of the squad for the game with Rosenborg last time out.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jonny Evans, Casemiro, Mason Mount and Marcus Rashford were the five senior players to start on Monday, but the former might not be involved, as he is currently being linked with West Ham United.
Scott McTominay is back in first-team training and should feature, while Jadon Sancho could also be in the squad, having patched-up his differences with Ten Hag.
Once again, a number of young players should be given opportunities to impress, with Harry Amass, Toby Collyer and Ethan Wheatley expected to be involved.
However, Zirkzee will not feature, as the Netherlands international is having a break before linking up with his new teammates due to his involvement in Euro 2024.
Yoro has not had any international commitments this summer, but he is also unlikely to feature this weekend, with the new signings expected to instead make their debuts on the upcoming US tour.
Rangers possible starting lineup:
Butland; Nsiala, Goldson, Balogun, Jefte; Diomande, Barron; Dowell, Lawrence, Wright; Dessers
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Ogunneye, Fish, Evans, Amass; Casemiro, Mount, McTominay; Antony, Wheatley, Rashford
We say: Rangers 1-2 Manchester United
It is always difficult to know exactly what to expect in terms of scorelines for pre-season fixtures, but Man United should have a stronger squad than the one that travelled to Norway.
As a result, we are tipping the 20-time English champions to record a narrow victory over Rangers before heading to the United States for their pre-season tour.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
