7M Exclusive - Man Utd vs Liverpool Preview

Posted Tuesday, July 12, 2022 by 7M Sport

Manchester United will play their first pre-season friendly against Liverpool in Bangkok on Tuesday night, with Erik ten Hag taking the lead for the first time. However, the Red Devils still have a lot of injuries and the new jead coach will not be able to put up the strongest team.

It is well known that top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 24 goals last season, did not return to the team due to family problems. Ronaldo will miss this pre-season game and may not even make it to training in Oceania. Not only that, but centre-backs Raphael Varane and Axel Tuanzebe, midfielders Scott McTominay and James Garner all missed Monday's open training session at the Rajamangala National Stadium due to injury. Captain Harry Maguire has previously had to train alone due to injury, so it is doubtful he will play.

Since this is only the first preseason game, injured players may not risk playing. This means that Ten Hag has only two healthy centre-backs, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly. According to staff, the two central defenders brought in by Jose Mourinho could form the defensive line in front of David De Gea.

United have plenty of options at full-backs. Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were in two positions at the back in Monday's training session, but the Manchester Evening News have predicted Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw are more likely to be in action against Liverpoo played as the starting left-back and right-back in the game.

In terms of midfield, Bruno Fernandes, Fred and Donny van de Beek will be the current first choice, while Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga will compete for three positions in the first line. The British media are optimistic about the start of Sancho, Rashford and Elanga.

7M Exclusive - Man Utd vs Liverpool Preview

Ten Hag is also developing United's teamwork and discipline during overseas training. British media revealed that the Dutch asked all players to have breakfast, lunch and dinner together in the hotel, and they would not eat dinner until everyone was there. In addition, the Manchester United boss also banned players from using mobile phones during meals and asked them to communicate more.

Like Man Utd, Liverpool are plagued by injuries. Darwin Nunes may not be out for this game. The Uruguayan center had a problem with his left foot in training and had to miss some training due to a blister. Nunes did some stretching with the help of a physio and Jurgen Klopp still hopes the striker will be available against Manchester United.