Manchester United are set to play the penultimate friendly in their pre-season schedule when they take on Real Betis at the Snapdragon Stadium on Thursday.
The Red Devils have had a sub-par pre-season so far, losing two of their three games, while the Greens have won one and lost one of their two friendly fixtures.
Match preview
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Erik ten Hag's first campaign in charge of Man Utd was certainly a success, guiding the side to their first trophy in six years thanks to a 2-0 triumph over Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final and securing a promising third-place finish in the league.
However, his second season was catastrophic with Man Utd recording one of their worst campaigns in Premier League history - recording their second-fewest points with 60, their most goals conceded with 58 and finishing in their lowest-ever position in eighth.
Ten Hag managed to somewhat salvage the campaign with a phenomenal 2-1 FA Cup final victory over city rivals Manchester City that defied the odds, and his contract has recently been extended to remain at the club for the foreseeable future.
Man Utd have been one of the busiest Premier League clubs in the transfer market as they aim to strengthen their squad ahead of a campaign focused on returning to the top four, already signing Joshua Zirkzee and promising youngster Leny Yoro, with rumours of additional acquisitions in the coming weeks.
The Red Devils have endured a difficult pre-season so far, disappointingly losing 1-0 to Rosenborg BK, who dominated the game with 22 shots to Man Utd's five, beating Rangers 2-0 and most recently losing 2-1 to Arsenal, a game that saw both Yoro and Rasmus Hojlund forced off with injuries.
Ten Hag will take confidence from his side's performance against the Gunners, as they had more shots and looked dangerous throughout, but he will be looking for better results in the final friendlies against Betis and Liverpool before the season starts with a Community Shield clash against Man City.
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Betis have played just two friendlies as they continue their preparations for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign, convincingly beating Austria Salzburg 5-1 in their opening fixture before narrowly losing 1-0 to Liverpool last time out.
The Greens had very little to shout about last term in La Liga, finishing in seventh place with 57 points, their fourth successive year of qualifying for European football after failing to do so in four of the five prior seasons.
Manuel Pellegrini, who has been in charge of the club since August 2020, faced multiple periods of difficulty throughout the campaign, particularly a spell of five league matches without a victory during December and January and four consecutive defeats in March, but he will ultimately be content with his side's overall performance.
Pellegrini will now be looking to put together a strong run of results in their final three friendlies against Man Utd, Al-Ittihad and Bayer Leverkusen ahead of a campaign with ambitions of closing the gap on the top four places.
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Team News
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Man Utd are without several key players due to their involvement in either the 2024 European Championships or Copa America, with Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo, Lisandro Martinez, Altay Bayindir, Diogo Dalot, Facundo Pellistri and Luke Shaw all on holiday.
New signing Zirkzee also did not make the trip due to his involvement with the Netherlands squad in Euro 2024, meaning the striker will join up with the side upon their return to Carrington.
Yoro and Hojlund were both forced off with injuries in the eventual defeat to Arsenal last time out, and neither are expected to feature for the remainder of pre-season.
Betis will be without Ayoze Perez, German Pezzella and Johnny Cardoso due to their involvement in international tournaments, while Abdessamad Ezzalzouli and Juan Miranda are competing at the Olympics.
Last season's star performer, Isco, suffered an ankle injury in May that ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign, and the midfielder is unlikely to feature until later this month.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Ogunneye, Evans, Maguire, Amass; Casemiro, Collyer; Amad, Mount, Sancho, Rashford
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Sabaly, Llorente, Mendy, Perraud; Fornals, Altimira, Carvalho, Juanmi; Fekir; Fernandez
We say: Manchester United 2-1 Real Betis
Man Utd may not have enjoyed the best pre-season so far, but their performance against Arsenal held plenty of promise, and we expect them to ultimately secure the victory here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
