Man United will face Liverpool next month in their first pre-season match, in what will also be Erik ten Hag’s debut game in charge of the Red Devils.
A lot of eyes will be on Erik’s side as they look to defeat their arch-rivals and start the era under him in an emphatic fashion.
However, because of how slowly United are moving in the transfer market, there is a chance that no new signings will feature in that game for the Red Devils.
That would mean Ten Hag has to pick from the current crop of players available. Although, not all the senior United players are going to be fully fit and ready for the game.
Who can miss out?
A number of United players featured in the international games earlier this month even after undergoing an entire campaign at the club level.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, and Harry Maguire all played in the UEFA Nations League until last week. Normally, players are given a mandatory 3-week holiday period starting from the day of their last game of the campaign.
That would mean these above-mentioned players can spend their vacations until the first week of July. The same goes for players like Fred, Alex Telles, James Garner, Alejandro Garnacho, and Anthony Elanga as they were all featured in international games after the domestic season ended.
If these players are to join training in the second week of July, they’re unlikely to be fit enough to start or even feature in the Liverpool game.
Who can feature in it?
Basically.. everyone else than the ones mentioned above. The likes of Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof should report to pre-season training early after not featuring that much in the Nations League games.
But a lot of eyes will be on the likes of Donny van de Beek, Jadon Sancho, and Marcus Rashford. Those three have a lot to prove under Ten Hag next season.
Meanwhile, the gaffer can also give some youngsters a go against Liverpool. The likes of Hannibal Mejbri, Shola Shoretire, Amad Diallo, Charlie Savage, and Alvaro Fernandez can all get minutes under their belt.
Man United’s likely XI vs Liverpool: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Varane, Shaw, Savage, Van de Beek, Sancho, Hannibal, Shoretire, Rashford
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