'San Diego is perfect preparation'

United’s final encounter before the Premier League season begins is a Manchester derby at Wembley in the traditional curtain-raiser, on Saturday 10 August.

Before that, there is the small matter of Tour 2024, presented by Snapdragon, where the Reds take on Betis in between meetings with Arsenal and Liverpool across three cities in the United States.

The squad for the flight to the west coast will be named before departure on Wednesday afternoon, but Ten Hag has promised he will have senior players at his disposal and will field strong line-ups.

“Betis is a very impressive opponent. They will always play in a high level, in La Liga,” said Ten Hag.

“We faced them in the Europa League two years ago and we know what we can expect from their manager.

“They have good players but also we will line up a strong team there. We will line up senior players, so that we have a strong team to win that game.”

After late defeat to Rosenborg in Norway, United were much improved in beating Rangers 2-0 at the weekend at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium.

Ten Hag will be targeting three wins in the US to ensure we go into the reunion with Pep Guardiola’s side in the best possible shape.

“We have to get that mentality in because at that point we don't have so much time to go into a final - we have to prepare ourselves for the Community Shield,” he added.

“So we have to be more competitive at that stage. That's what we can expect from every individual player, but also as a team, and we have to make progress by that time.”

The Betis game, and the other friendlies, are all about obtaining peak physical condition but there could also be a chance for supporters in San Diego to get a look at new signing Leny Yoro, who made his first appearance in a red shirt on Saturday.

Yoro impressed during his 45-minute cameo in Edinburgh and is looking forward to testing himself Stateside, in front of local crowds.

“Yeah, we have three games, three competitive games and the fans will be there, I know,” he said.

“With the team, we will give everything to win this game.”

SECURE YOUR TICKETS NOW

Tickets for our meeting with Real Betis in San Diego are still available now.

Buy yours to ensure you’re at the Snapdragon Stadium when we take on Manuel Pellegrini’s men.

The match kicks off at 19:00 local time on Wednesday 31 July.