Manchester United continue their pre-season campaign against Norwegian side Valerenga after a narrow 1-0 defeat against Barcelona
Manchester United rounded off the American leg of their pre-season tour with a narrow defeat against Spanish giants Barcelona, and will be keen to get back to winning ways as they face Valerenga. Prior to the game against Barcelona, United put up convincing victories over LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Manchester City and Real Madrid.
Valerenga, on the other hand, have already begun their domestic campaign. The Norwegian side secured a mid-table finish in the country’s top tier, Tippeligaen, last season, and are currently seventh in the table after 16 games. The club will be hoping to follow Barcelona’s footsteps in beating United but they will have to be wary of the Red Devils.
Following the clash against Valerenga, United will face off against Italian outfit Sampdoria. They will have busy days ahead of them since they also have to play the colossal UEFA Super Cup final against Real Madrid in Macedonia on 8th August, before embarking on the new Premier League campaign.
Team News & Tactics
Manchester United
Juan Mata and Ander Herrera are likely to return from injury against Valerenga after training this week. However, Luke Shaw, Ashley Young and Marcos Rojo remain long-term absentees and will not play any part for Manchester United in the near future.
Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly are likely to continue as the central defensive pairing, but Jose Mourinho could provide a run to Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Demi Mitchell to continue their grooming ahead of the forthcoming season.
Another key decision could surround Anthony Martial and Andreas Pereira. The pair have given a good account of themselves in the pre-season campaign thus far, and it looks like Mourinho is likely to give them another chance to impress.
Martial has struggled for form under Mourinho, but having showcased a notably improved work rate, he could be utilized against Valerenga. Pereira, too, has played splendidly thus far and deserves another opportunity to put his best foot forward for United.
As far as tactics go, Mourinho seems to be having a good run with United winning all of their games so far, barring the narrow defeat against Barcelona. He is likely to continue with the same deep-pressing game to build pressure and then counter-attack at the opportune moment.
Possible Starting XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Fosu-Mensah, Lindelof, Bailly, Mitchell; Herrera, Pogba,;Rashford, Pereira, Martial; Lukaku
Valerenga
Valerenga have no fresh injury concerns and will come into this game after a 1-1 draw against Kristiansund. They will be keen on registering a win against the Red Devils since it can act as a major confidence boost for the club once they resume playing their league games.
Considering United’s previous performances, Valerenga will have to be especially wary of Ander Herrera in the midfield while also ensuring to put up a strong defensive display to tackle the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba.
Bard Finne has been a revelation for Valerenga and the Norwegian club will hoping that their star man continues his strong form against Manchester United. Weaving through United’s defence might not be an easy task but given how Finne has been performing lately, the visitors need to be extremely careful of this man.
Keeping calm has to be one of the most important points Valerenga should keep in mind because Jose Mourinho’s squad loves to build the pressure and attack at the slightest sign of weakness shown by the opposition and hence the Norwegian club will need to devise a strategy to keep United’s players in check.
Possible Starting XI (4-3-3): Sandberg; Lundstrom, Nation, Jaager, Nasberg; Stengel, Agyiri, Grindheim; Finne, Abdellaoue, Zahid
Key Stats
- Manchester United legend Ronny Johnsen returned to Norway after leaving Old Trafford and helped Valerenga to league success in 2005
- Manchester United drew 2-2 with Valerenga in a pre-season friendly back in 1998, and 0-0 in 2012.
- 100% of Valerenga’s last eight friendly matches have seen at least three goals, as have 50% of Manchester United’s last eight.
Prediction
Manchester United 2-1 Valerenga
On the whole, Manchester United’s tour of the United States was rather successful. They managed to put convincing performances to beat clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester City. Jose Mourinho is likely to be pleased with the squad he has put together and will be hoping for a victory against Valerenga as well.
United seem like the stronger side on paper, even though the Valerenga players are expected to be more match fit. But, when one compares the performances of both teams so far, the Red Devils surely have an upper hand.
Having said that, this game is still likely to be an intense affair since Valerenga usually manage to be involved in high-scoring games and it will be interesting to see how the Norway side fares against Manchester United. We predict a win for Manchester United.
