Manchester United’s preseason tour continues to roll along quite nicely. After wins against MLS foes in the Los Angeles Galaxy (5-2) and Real Salt Lake (2-1), the English giants got their International Champions Cup campaign off to a good start as they got a 2-0 win over city rivals Manchester City.
Young strikers Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford both got on the scoresheet as they continued their promising form this summer. Rashford has now scored three goals through three preseason games, while Lukaku has hit the target in his last two. Henrikh Mkhitaryan has also found the net twice as he looks to cement a place in the starting XI.
While this is matchup against Real is just a friendly, expect this match to take on an extra bit of weight for manager Jose Mourinho, who managed at Real before falling out with ownership. Mourinho fielded close to his first-choice starting XI against a slightly weakened City, and look for him to do the same against Real.
After another successful season where they won La Liga and the Champions League, Real Madrid are set to begin their preseason campaign. The Spanish champions have lost Alvaro Morata, Danilo, and James Rodriguez over the summer, their squad remains very strong.
New additions Theo Hernandez and Dani Ceballos will likely get their opportunity to impress during preseason, as will the likes of Mateo Kovacic and Marcos Llorente.
Veterans Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, and Sergio Ramos should be held out, which will definitely weaken the team. However, manager Zinedine Zidane can still call upon Gareth Bale, who is eager to stake his place in the side after missing the latter half of the season due to injury.
Madrid have not won their opening International Champions Cup games in the last three seasons—two draws (both penalty defeats) and a loss.
Writer’s Prediction
Mourinho and United ( +195) get one over on Real as they win, 2-1.
