6 unmissable pre-season matches with Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd, Barca and Real Madrid | OneFootball

It’s almost that time of the year again when teams pack their bags and jet off to exciting locations all over the world to play some of Europe’s biggest teams in front of packed-out stadiums.

Most Premier League clubs have already announced their pre-season tours – looking at you, Luton Town – so here are the six most exciting pre-season fixtures this summer.

6 Chelsea v Wrexham

Had this fixture been planned just two years ago, there’d be no chance that anyone would be talking about it, let alone putting it on their list of the most exciting pre-season fixtures.

However, Wrexham have quickly established themselves as one of the world’s most well-known and talked about football clubs thanks to their Hollywood owners, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

Having only just won promotion to England’s lowest-ranked tier for professional football, the club has shot to prominence in the US due to the wildly successful FX documentary ‘Welcome to Wrexham.’

With Chelsea’s woeful form and Wrexham’s undeniable momentum, we might see an upset before the Premier League season even begins.

5 Tottenham Hotspur v Roma

“The only club in my career where I don’t have still a deep feeling for is Tottenham.”

Those were the words of Roma manager and former Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho just last week.

What might’ve been just another run-of-the-mill pre-season fixture now suddenly has that extra bit of spice thanks to the Special One.

Add to that a new manager for Tottenham and the potential absence of Harry Kane, and this suddenly becomes a game worth watching.

4 Manchester City v Bayern Munich

Champions of England against the Champions of Germany. Two of the favourites for next season’s Champions League. Pep Guardiola’s last team versus his current team. Whichever way you choose to frame this clash, it will undoubtedly be one you’ll want to watch.

The game itself is taking place on July 26th in Japan’s National Stadium in Tokyo as a part of the Audi Football Summit tournament.

It will also give those outside of Europe to see the superhuman scoring abilities of Erling Haaland in the flesh.

3 Manchester United v Real Madrid

Few teams in football can claim that they are the world’s biggest club, but Manchester United and Real Madrid certainly have more right to do so than most.

With both teams having decent, if not somewhat underwhelming seasons, we should expect their clash in Houston’s NRG Stadium on July 26thto be an exciting one.

And with both teams reportedly changing up their squads, we could see some new faces make their debuts - Jude Bellingham, anyone?

2 Arsenal v Barcelona

Sticking with the Gunners, they’ll finish their American tour on July 26th, with a massive game against Spanish giants Barcelona at the SoFi Stadium in LA.

Mikel Arteta’s men will have their work cut out for them if they want to end their pre-season on a win as the Catalan side walked La Liga this year, finishing ten points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid.

The north Londoners will likely be watched by their American owner Stan Kroenke, the owner of SoFi stadium.

1 Arsenal v Manchester United

It’s an all-English affair in New York’s Met Life Stadium on July 22nd when Premier League runners-up Arsenal take on League Cup winners Manchester United.

It should be a great atmosphere in the 82,500-seater stadium, and with transfer rumours abound, we might get our first glimpses of Declan Rice in an Arsenal shirt and Mason Mount in the Red of Manchester United.