5 things to look out for as Man Utd begin pre-season against rivals in Stockholm
Ruben Amorim gets his first full campaign as Manchester United head coach underway with a friendly against Premier League rivals Leeds in Stockholm and Matheus Cunha is set to make his debut
Manchester United kick off their pre-season schedule against Leeds United at Stockholm’s Strawberry Arena on Saturday afternoon and Ruben Amorim will be hoping Bryan Mbeumo can join the party that travels to the United States soon after.
Brentford have agreed a deal worth up to £71m for the Cameroon international and he will join the tour to the US which begins next week.
But the 29-man squad named by United for the meeting with rivals Leeds in Sweden features only Matheus Cunha and Diego Leon as new arrivals, with a quintet of big names looking to be sold left at home including Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford.
Here is what to look out for and how to watch as the new season moves a step closer.
READ MORE: Man Utd to sign Bryan Mbeumo after finally reaching Brentford transfer agreementREAD MORE: Man Utd name 29-man squad for Leeds fixture but Ruben Amorim doesn't get his wayCunha debut
While the wait to see Mbeumo will drag on until the American series, Matheus Cunha is in line to make his debut having already been handed the No10 shirt vacated by Marcus Rashford. And excitement is high that the Brazilian will thrive from the off after a £62.5m move from Wolves.
Amorim’s squad had problems running through it last season but chief among them was the lack of firepower up front.
Cunha can bring both goals and the intensity required to shine in Amorim’s system.
Leon’s chance
Reports suggest Diego Leon is already impressing on the training pitch and considering the club indicated he would flit between the first team and underage set up as he gets up to speed with English football.
A good display here could see him veer much closer to remaining with the former once the season proper gets going.
Youngsters’ auditions
There are 10 youngsters in the squad including Toby Collyer, Chido Obi, Tyler Fredricson and Ethan Williams.
And with Joshua Zirkzee still recovering from injury and Rasmus Hojlund’s future at the club in doubt amid interest from clubs in Serie A, there appears a chance of Obi to make a big case for a much bigger opportunity.
Same system?
Amorim was quickly criticised from some quarters for his determination to stick to his system rather than adapt to specific situations.
Will he show any signs of moving away from his structure here or will he stick with his tried and tested and believe that his squad can improve their ability to carry out his specific instructions as the next four weeks before the new Premier League season begins progresses?
How friendly is this friendly?
Rare is the club game that gets heated in mid-July so it will be interesting to see whether these two rivals get stuck in.
When they face off in early January in the first league meeting of the season it will get very tasty. Do not rule out a meaty tackle or two here, though.
TV details
The game gets underway at 2pm and will be shown live on MUTV.
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