Predicted Manchester United XI v Melbourne Victory
Manchester United’s second pre-season game takes place on Friday with the Red Devils taking on Melbourne Victory.
The match kicks off at 11.05am UK time, as the first of three matches United will play in Australia.
How United could line up
United picked 22 players in the game against Liverpool, making 11 changes, 10 at half-time and David de Gea midway through the second half.
The point of pre-season is to help players get their fitness up, and so there will be an experimental line-up against Melbourne Victory with Erik ten Hag spreading the minutes around.
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This means we are likely to see a handful of players we did not see in the first game, either due to injury or simply not being selected.
Rotation in goal could see Nathan Bishop and/or Matej Kovar get rare chances, potentially playing 45 minutes each, before David de Gea returns for the following games.
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Harry Maguire is also set to return, with Erik ten Hag telling his press conference the captain is fit to play at least half a game.
He could be partnered by Raphael Varane, before United mix it up at full-back, with new signing Tyrell Malacia making his first start, and youngster Ethan Laird getting a long awaited pre-season chance on the right.
James Garner is also fit again and likely to start. He could be partnered by Fred, with promising midfielder Hannibal also getting an opportunity.
United also have two attackers available who did not feature against Liverpool. These are Alejandro Garnacho and Tahith Chong.
Both players could start either side of Anthony Martial in attack, with United looking to give minutes to as many players as possible before matches against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.
This would be a wildly experimental line-up, and that’s what its all about, with United facing the weakest side of all six pre-season opponents. Let’s see what some of the fringe players are capable of.
