Wrexham and Manchester United go head to head in what might be considered a surprising summer friendly until you remember that the Welsh side, recently promoted to the fourth tier of England’s league ladder, are co-owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
The Red Dragons have already faced Chelsea since travelling to the United States earlier this month. Although that game ended in a heavy 5-0 defeat, they have since dished out a 4-0 win of their own on LA Galaxy’s reserve team.
United, meanwhile, are doing well in their preparations for the new campaign, having so far racked up wins over Leeds, Lyon and Arsenal. However, with a much bigger game against Real Madrid in a completely different part of the country the next day, it won’t be a squad of senior stars.
“Manchester United will dominate possession as they are a fantastic team. Even if they won’t be playing their main team, their periphery players are outstanding and are internationals,” Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson explained after the LA Galaxy II game.
“It will be a great exercise for us in working out of possession and being disciplined. We’re playing against a good team and need to be at our best. I think the balance for us is getting minutes in as many of the players as possible.”
Man Utd vs Wrexham H2H record (Last Five Games)
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It will be a primarily young United team that goes onto the Snapdragon turf. That likely means no Andre Onana, who will be making his debut the next day against Real Madrid in Texas.
There will be opportunities for the likes of Hannibal Mejbri, Dan Gore and Alvaro Fernandez. But with only 31 players in the United States, some more senior stars will still be involved.
Man Utd predicted lineup vs Wrexham (4-2-3-1): Vitek; Williams, Maguire, Lindelof, Fernandez; Gore, McTominay; Pellistri, Hannibal, Forson; Elanga
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Phil Parkinson has already stated his intention to start the game with different players than those that did so against LA Galaxy II, with the idea to get as many squad members ready for the start of the League Two season early next month – Wrexham face MK Dons on 5 August.
The fact this will be a mostly young Manchester United side likely means it’ll be a closer game than when Wrexham faced Chelsea. The Blues had more senior players and didn’t race away until the second half when Raheem Sterling, Conor Gallagher and Christopher Nkunku were on the pitch.
It will be an important test for the youngsters Erik ten Hag is testing out this summer, while Wrexham’s players will get a rare chance to go head to head with Manchester United.
Prediction: Man Utd 3-2 Wrexham
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