Manchester United take on Athletic Bilbao in their final pre-season friendly before the beginning of the 23/24 campaign. Here is our predicted lineup.
The final game of the 2023 summer tour will see United face their second Spanish side, with Athletic Bilbao making the trip to Dublin to face off with the Red Devils at the Aviva Stadium.
This is Erik ten Hag‘s second game in two days, with United defeating Lens at Old Trafford in a convincing victory which saw the first-team squad shine bright.
This means we’ll likely see a second-string side featuring in the Irish capital. Let’s see who could feature.
Manchester United predicted line-up
With a starting XI at Old Trafford featuring the players that will likely start the first game of the season, this game against Bilbao will give some of the fringe players an opportunity to impress before the opener against Wolves.
The ever-experienced Tom Heaton should be between the sticks. He’s looked great when he’s played and is actually going to be a really competent backup this season.
The Ole Gunnar Solksjaer era of centre-half will likely be reunited, with Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire set to start. They’ll be joined by another Ole signing, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and we think Alvaro Fernandez will get a chance at left-back.
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It’ll likely be Maguire’s last chance to impress Ten Hag, with the club looking to get rid for at least £40m.
In midfield, another potential departure in Scott McTominay will sit in the holding DM role, with Donny van de Beek and Hannibal partnering – although Christian Eriksen could easily slot in.
As for the front three, we think Facundo Pellistri will get a much-deserved start, with Omari Forson on the opposite flank. Joe Hugill will likely be the starting striker, who’s already shown he knows where the goal is.
A great mix of youth and experience as the Reds look to end their tour off in style.
- Predicted XI: Heaton; Fernandez, Maguire, Lindelof, Wan-Bissaka; McTominay, Hannibal, Van de Beek; Forson, Hugill, Pellistri
Potential debutant? Who is Tom Wooster?
There could easily be a debut for a player never called up to a first-team game before, for academy goalkeeper Tom Wooster.
The Manchester Evening News got pictures of the youngster boarding the flight with the rest of the squad, so it’ll be interesting to see if he gets any minutes in Dublin.