Manchester United vs Leeds United

Manchester United’s pre-season tour gets underway at the Ulleval Stadium as they lock horns with arch-rivals Leeds United.

Erik ten Hag enjoyed a decent maiden season at Old Trafford, helping Man Utd halt a six-year title drought, courtesy of a 2-0 win over Newcastle United in February’s League Cup final. The Dutch manager also guided the ‘Red Devils’ back to the Champions League group stages following a year-long absence from Europe’s top table. However, a nerve-shredding 2-1 defeat to cross-town rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup showpiece in June cast a shadow on United’s otherwise successful season, putting the brakes on their four-match winning run beforehand. Man Utd got the better of Leeds in their most recent H2H (2-0), maintaining their imperious unbeaten streak in this fixture to eight games (W6, D2).

Meanwhile, Leeds United’s two-year Premier League tenure ended in heartbreaking fashion as they finished five points adrift of safety last season, having won just 18% of their top-flight assignments (W7, D10, L21). Considering they conceded a whopping 78 goals at an average of 2.05 per game, it’s barely a surprise they failed to hold on to their top-flight status. The conclusion of the 2022/23 campaign couldn’t have come soon enough for the Elland Road outfit, given their wayward run of nine straight winless matches (D2, L7) at the tail-end of last season. That’s not to mention the ‘Whites’ shipped 2+ goals in eight of those nine outings. It’s now up to new boss Daniel Farke to steady the ship and prepare Leeds for the upcoming challenges in the Championship.