Fred, Luke Shaw and Jesse Lingard and their Manchester United team-mates greet their Tottenham Hotspur opponents ahead of a Premier League match

Your guide to United's pre-season opponents

Sunday 07 July 2019 09:00

With opposition including historic rivals and European heavyweights, Manchester United's pre-season schedule will provide ideal preparation for the 2019/20 campaign.

The fixture list comprises two initial friendlies in Perth, Australia, before three ties in the International Champions Cup (ICC) in Shanghai, Singapore and Cardiff. These five games make up Tour 2019; the Reds will also play a separate match in Oslo, against Norwegian club Kristiansund BK.

All of United's pre-season games will be shown live on MUTV

Here's our quick guide to the teams we will be facing this summer...

PERTH GLORY

Australian A-League side Perth Glory will be our first pre-season opponents. The Western Australia-based outfit, who play their domestic games at the nib Stadium, will face the Reds in a friendly at the 60,000-capacity Optus Stadium next Saturday, 13 July.

Perth Glory's starting line-up for their A-League Grand Final against Sydney FC.

The Glory, as they are known by supporters, enjoyed a superb season in 2018/19 and finished top of the A-League after picking up 60 points from 27 games. The club also finished as runners-up in the A-League grand final - a competition contested at the end of the season between the top six sides in the division - after they were beaten on penalties by Sydney FC.

Our hosts are managed by former Australian international and ex-Crystal Palace defender Tony Popovic. Fans of English football may also recognise former Republic of Ireland striker Andy Keogh in their ranks along with veterans of the Football League, Shane Lowry and Neil Kilkenny.

LEEDS UNITED

A team that needs no introduction to our fans, Leeds are the Reds’ second opponents this summer, as we face the Yorkshire outfit in a friendly at the Optus Stadium on Wednesday 17 July.

For most of the 2018/19 season it appeared that this summer’s match would be a dress rehearsal for our first Premier League meetings in 15 years, but Leeds’ promotion hopes were dashed after a late season slump meant they finished third in the Championship. Marcelo Bielsa’s men also faced heartbreak in the play-offs, letting a two-goal aggregate lead slip to Derby County at the semi-final stage.

The last time the Reds faced the Whites was in the League Cup in 2011, when a Michael Owen brace and an excellent Ryan Giggs finish saw Sir Alex Ferguson's side run out 3-0 victors at Elland Road.

Leeds had many moments like this in 2018/19 but still missed out on promotion.

INTERNAZIONALE

Internazionale, better known as Inter Milan, will be United's third pre-season opponents but the first team we'll face in our ICC campaign, at the Singapore National Stadium on Saturday 20 July.

The Nerazzurri recently appointed Antonio Conte as their new boss, after securing a Champions League qualification spot on the final day of the Serie A season; Inter beat Empoli 2-1 to ensure they finished a point clear of city rivals AC Milan.

The Reds have faced Inter in two Champions League knockout ties, in 1999 and 2009. In our Treble-winning campaign, the Reds won 2-0 at Old Trafford before a 1-1 draw in Milan saw us advance to the semi-finals of the competition, while a decade later, Sir Alex Ferguson's side got the better of the Serie A outfit in the round of 16.

Inter Milan have claimed a place in the Champions League for a second successive year.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

United will meet the north London club at the Hongkou Stadium in Shanghai on Thursday 25 July. This clash will see two former ICC winners come up against one another, with us taking the crown in 2014 and Spurs in 2018.

Mauricio Pochettino's team finished fourth in the Premier League and were Champions League runners-up after reaching the final for the first time in their history. Our last meeting was in January's league fixture, when Marcus Rashford’s strike and some sublime saves from David De Gea enabled us to win 1-0 at Wembley.

KRISTIANSUND BK


After flying back to Europe, the Reds will travel to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's homeland for a meeting with Kristiansund BK on Tuesday 30 July. The friendly will be held at the 28,000-seater Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, where we have previously won twice and drawn once against different opposition.

Kristiansund BK are currently enjoying their second season in Norway’s top flight, the Eliteserien. The club was formed as recently as September 2003, from a merger of local rivals Kristiansund FK and Clausenengen FK - the team who gave Solskjaer his professional playing debut in 1990.
 

Scott McTominay was involved last summer when we took on Milan.

AC MILAN

We'll face the Italian heavyweights at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday 3 August, one year after meeting them in the ICC at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. On that occasion, United won 9-8 on penalties.

Our last clash with Milan in European competition came nine years ago; the Reds advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals with a 7-2 aggregate victory.

WATCH EVERY MATCH LIVE

You can watch all six of United's pre-season games live on MUTV.

Visit our fixtures page for kick-offs in your local time.

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