New fixture added to Manchester United’s pre-season schedule | OneFootball

Manchester United have increased their pre-season schedule by finalising another fixture.

Erik ten Hag’s side will start their preparations for the 2023/24 season in Oslo, taking on rivals and recently-relegated Leeds United on 12th July.

United visited Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s country last summer when they faced Atletico Madrid, also in the capital.

Following the clash against Leeds, United will retreat back to the United Kingdom where they will play Olympique Lyonnais in Edinburgh on 19th July.

The squad will then commence their official pre-season tour of the United States.

They face Arsenal in New York City on 23rd July, then Real Madrid in Houston on 26th July, and finally Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas on 30th July.

An academy side is expected to be fielded against Wrexham in San Diego on 25th July.

On a similar note to last year, Ten Hag has reiterated his desire for the team to play back-to-back friendlies on the final weekend ahead of the opening Premier League game.

The first game of the new season will kick off on the weekend of 11th-13th August, with the fixture list set to be released next Thursday.

According to the Manchester Evening News, United will play a friendly in Dublin on 5th August against an as-of-yet unknown opponent.

The club will then play Athletic Bilbao at Old Trafford the following day, as per Samuel Luckhurst and Richard Fay.

Had United been triumphant in the FA Cup final against Manchester City, they would have once again faced their local rivals in the Community Shield on Sunday 6th August.

What does contradict MEN’s report, however, is that Ireland are scheduled to play Italy in a Rugby World Cup warm-up game at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on the same Saturday.

There would therefore need to be a rearrangement of fixtures and locations to fit both sporting occasions.

Last summer saw Ten Hag field a strong starting XI against Atleti in Oslo on the Saturday and a rotated lineup against Rayo Vallecano on the Sunday.

With the window officially opening on 14th June, chief executive Richard Arnold and football director John Murtough have just shy of four weeks to register new signings to partake in a full pre-season.