Manchester United will be looking to hit the ground running when they face Leeds United in their opening pre-season friendly at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo on Wednesday afternoon.
United, who took four points off their rivals in the Premier League last season, will be looking to get their pre-season preparations off to an ideal start against the Championship outfit. The trip to Norway marks the first of eight friendlies that are penciled in between now and the big kick-off in August.
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.
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READ MORE: United confirm 26-man squad for Leeds friendly
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.
Five goalkeepers were pictured participating in training last week, including veteran Tom Heaton, and he is expected to start between the posts. Dean Henderson has not been included in the travelling squad, meaning Nathan Bishop and Matej Kovar will challenge Heaton for minutes.
Ahead of Heaton, Ten Hag could name a back-four featuring a blend of both youth and experience. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Raphael Varane are in contention to start at right-back and centre-back respectively, whereas there is a little more hesitancy about Lisandro Martinez and his fitness levels after his recent injury.
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Wan-Bissaka and Varane could be joined in the back-four by FA Youth Cup-winning captain Rhys Bennett and left-back Alvaro Fernandez, who excelled on loan at Preston North End last season. Brandon Williams could rival Fernandez for a start, but other left-backs Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Alex Telles will not be involved.
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.
Predicted line-up vs Leeds: Heaton; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Bennett, Fernandez; Fred, Hannibal, Mainoo; Sancho, Amad, Mount.
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