MANCHESTER UNITED are facing Crystal Palace in a huge pre-season clash in Melbourne this morning.
Erik ten Hag's tenure in the hot seat has got off to a superb start, albeit in pre-season friendlies.
The Red Devils followed up their emphatic opening pre-season win over Liverpool with a 4-1 triumph against Melbourne Victory on Friday.
But the Eagles should store some confidence as they defeated Manchester United on the final day of the 2021/22 season.
- Kick-off time: 11.10am BST
- TV/live stream: MUTV/ Palace Player
- Man Utd XI: Team news to follow
- Crystal Palace XI: Team news to follow
SUN BINGO GET £50 BONUS & 50 FREE SPINS TODAY
- Joe Adams
Ten Hag names youthful bench
Heaton, Kovar, Bailly, Amad, Shaw, Telles, Pellistri, Wan-Bissaka, Van De Beek, Elanga, Laird, Chong, Hannibal, Fish, Garnacho, Savage, Iqbal
- Joe Adams
Ebiowei handed start for Palace
Butland, Clyne, Ward, Andersen, Mitchell, Rak-Sakyi, Milivojevic, Phillips, Ebiowei, Mateta, Ayew
- Joe Adams
Malacia starts for United
De Gea, Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Malacia, McTominay, Fred, Fernandes, Sancho, Rashford, Martial
- Joe Adams
Viera predicts Ten Hag success
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Viera has had plenty of history with United over the years, playing in some classics as Arsenal captain. Today, he's up against them again, this time from the dugout. But the boss expects big things from Ten Hag's men this season:
It looks like the new manager has started to implement the way he wants to play. Look at the individual talent in the team. United used to play to win the Premier League. I think this year they will be trying to qualify for the Champions League or win the title.
Patrick Viera, Crystal Palace boss
.Credit: Getty - Joe Adams
How do these two match up on paper?
The Red Devils have had an impressive start under Ten Hag, beating Melbourne Victory 4-1 and Liverpool 4-0 just days before. The Dutchman will be hoping for more goals today as he continues to prepare for the start of the Premier League campaign.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have had an eventful pre-season so far, beating Millwall in a nine-goal thriller, along with Ipswich on Saturday thanks to a Luke Plange hat-trick. Both Manchester United and the Eagles shared the spoils in the league last season, winning one a piece on home turf.
Kick-off is scheduled for 11:10 at the MCG and we will bring you team news shortly.
- James Orr
Where's Ron?
Excitement is reaching fever pitch outside the MCG in Melbourne for today's big pre-season friendly.
And one player in particular – who is not here today – is the name on everyone's shirts.
- James Orr
Welcome to Man Utd vs Crystal Palace
Manchester United are taking on Crystal Palace in a huge pre-season friendly in Melbourne this morning.
Cristiano Ronaldo will not be featuring, but new boss Erik ten Hag is ready to build his team around the wantaway star.
And he will keep Harry Maguire as captain to rebuild his confidence, too.
New boss Ten Hag has no idea when Ronaldo, 37, will return after missing the start of United’s tour for ‘family reasons’.
He is currently training alone in Portugal as speculation over his future rumbles on and posted a picture alongside Cristiano Jr and former Sporting academy team-mates Jose Semedo and Miguel Paixao on Monday.
He captioned the picture: "Work done."
Asked if the superstar can adapt to his pressing system, Ten Hag said: “Cristiano’s capable of doing that. In his career he has shown everything.
“I have set my demand. We want to play in a certain way. A top player can contribute and Ronaldo is an absolute top player in our squad."
Source: Read Full Article
