Manchester United will play their first match of their pre-season tour of China on Friday against German outfit Borussia Dortmund.
The Reds kicked off their summer preparations with a 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic last weekend, but last season’s Bundesliga runners-up will represent a much tougher task for Jose Mourinho’s team.
English Euro 2016 trio out
Having fielded a strong team in the win against Wigan, though, Mourinho is likely to do the same against Borussia Dortmund, and the Portuguese does have a great 25-man-squad at his disposal.
Wayne Rooney, Chris Smalling and Marcus Rashford are all a part of that squad but will not play due to a lack of match fitness after playing for England at Euro 2016 earlier this summer.
David de Gea also played at Euro 2016 and was knocked out at the same stage as England with Spain, but he is perhaps more likely to be involved for at least some of the match than his English counterparts.
In defence, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Luke Shaw should keep their places as full-backs having only played 45 minutes against Wigan, whilst new signing Eric Bailly will surely be given more minutes despite playing for longer in that match. However, it’s possible that Daley Blind, who surprisingly started at centre-back last time out, could be replaced by Phil Jones in that role.
Wigan scorers to get a chance
There are few options in central midfield for the Reds right now, which should allow Michael Carrick and Ander Herrera to retain their places in the team.
Likewise, the Reds are short on strikers. Rooney and Rashford won’t play, which means Will Keane, who opened the scoring against Wigan, is the obvious choice to start in their place.
In the three behind Keane, it would be a surprise if new arrival Henrikh Mkhitaryan isn’t given the chance to start against his former club, although he may instead be deployed on the right this time around having played more centrally against Wigan. That may give Juan Mata an opportunity to play in his favoured number ten role.
Andreas Pereira could replace Memphis Depay on the left after scoring a stunning goal against Wigan. The latter should be involved at some stage, though, and he may even be given a chance as a lone forward, with the Dutchman being one of few viable options to play there.
Marcos Rojo, Sergio Romero and Paddy McNair are all available again following their international duties, so they and a host of others could be involved, too.
Predicted XI: De Gea; Fosu-Mensah, Bailly, Jones, Shaw; Carrick, Herrera; Mkhitaryan, Mata, Pereira; Keane.