Manchester United kick off their 2024/25 pre-season campaign with a trip to Norway to face Rosenborg in a friendly.
With Sir Jim Ratcliffe beginning to make an impact off the field and Erik ten Hag being handed a contract extension following his FA Cup triumph last season, there is a more positive feeling surrounding Old Trafford than even just a few months ago.
While some of the club's players are still on international duty or resting up after tournament football, Ten Hag has welcomed back a host of first-teamers for pre-season already and new signings are beginning to filter through.
Man Utd will be travelling to the United States towards the end of the month but they are beginning their new season preparations with a clash against Rosenborg. The Norwegian side are halfway through the Eliteserien season as they follow a different calendar to the majority of Europe, and they currently sit eighth in the top tier.
Here is 90min's guide to Man Utd's friendly clash with Rosenborg.
Rosenborg vs Man Utd H2H Record (All-time)
Current form (all competitions)
Rosenborg | Man Utd |
|---|---|
Sarpsborg 4-1 Rosenborg - 12/07/24 | Man City 1-2 Man Utd - 25/05/24 |
Rosenborg 2-1 Odd - 07/07/24 | Brighton 0-2 Man Utd - 19/05/24 |
Viking 4-2 Rosenborg - 30/06/24 | Man Utd 3-2 Newcastle - 15/05/24 |
Rosenborg 1-1 Fredrikstad - 02/06/24 | Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal - 12/05/24 |
Rosenborg 2-1 Kristiansund - 26/05/24 | Crystal Palace 4-0 Man Utd - 06/05/24 |
Country | TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | MUTV |
United States | N/A |
Canada | N/A |
It's unclear how Rosenborg will approach this friendly given they have a clash with Lillestrom next weekend in the league, but they will offer a good test to Ten Hag's side given they are match fit and raring to go.
They have just one injury concern, with left-back Jonathan Augustinsson a doubt for the fixture.
Rosenborg predicted lineup vs Man Utd (4-3-3): Tangvik; Cornic, Ceide, Jenssen, Reitan; Vaananen, Selnaes, Nypan; Broholm, Holm, Reitan-Sunde.
Ten Hag is without a number of his stars due to this summer's international tournaments, with the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo all competing in major finals on Sunday. As a result, the Dutch coach has limited options available to him.
Jadon Sancho has returned to training after clearing the air with Ten Hag though will not travel to Norway, but Jonny Evans has just penned a new one-year deal and could feature. The likes of Casemiro, Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount all in pre-season training already.
Ten Hag is likely to make sweeping changes throughout the match in Norway, making his starting lineup difficult to predict. However, Harry Maguire may not feature given he is returning from injury.
Man Utd predicted lineup vs Rosenborg (4-2-3-1): Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Fish, Evans, Lindelof; Casemiro, Gore; Antony, Hannibal, Mount; Rashford.
Given this is Man Utd's first pre-season game, Ten Hag's men may be a little rusty. With Rosenborg in the middle of their campaign, they may cause a weakened United team some issues.
However, with the quality that Man Utd possess and a number of players trying to prove their worth to Ten Hag, they should stroll to a relatively comfortable victory against a team that has been leaking goals recently,