Manchester United will look to shake off the stench of the pre-season defeat vs Arsenal when they take on Real Betis on August 1.
It’s the second-last pre-season game before they kick off their campaign with the Manchester Derby in the Community Shield final.
Erik ten Hag is still missing crucial players due to extended holidays after Copa America and Euros and his worries were compounded due to injuries to Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro vs Arsenal.
Here are five things to watch out for in the game vs Betis-
The forward conundrum
United signed Joshua Zirkzee this summer but as Anthony Martial departed, their striking options remain as thin as ever.
Zirkzee enjoyed an extended break and only recently reported to Carrington for training, so that leaves only Ethan Wheatley as the natural striker due to Hojlund’s injury, which the player was not very forthcoming about.
Wheatley impressed in games vs Rangers and Rosenborg and if United don’t sign an additional striker, which seems likely, then he can expect to see a lot more action than he would have expected.
The two games against Betis and Liverpool is his chance to convince Ten Hag that it is the right decision because pulling Marcus Rashford from the wing to the middle hasn’t worked before.
A star rising
Wheatley has a big chance to impress but he was already on the radar, having made his first-team debut last season.
Toby Collyer, however, has broken through this pre-season and is firmly in contention to become a permanent first-team fixture this season.
Of course, pre-season is no guarantee of success in the first-team, just ask Dan Gore, but barring some ridiculous injury luck or unfathomably bad displays in the two games remaining, it’s hard to look beyond Collyer.
His destroyer style of play suits playing as a pivot next to a more adventurous midfielder, and his reading of the game is already elite.
If he continues his ascent against Betis and Liverpool, a first-team debut against Man City can’t be ruled out.
A transfer hint
United’s right-back situation has developed rapidly since the game against Arsenal, with a deal for Nossair Mazraoui close now.
Personal agreement has been reached and the completion remains contingent on Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s sale. All things considered, will United risk Wan-Bissaka in a friendly if the transfer domino is close to falling?
If the player is left out of the team, or even left out of the “first XI” that has regularly played from the start before being subbed out for “reserves” in the second half, it drops a big transfer hint.
Of course, it might be so that Wan-Bissaka plays and still gets sold because he’s the only natural right-back in the squad, but as things stand now, United might not want to risk him sustaining an injury and scuppering not one, but two deals at once.
A brewing rivalry
Ten Hag made a big call vs Arsenal which hints the current leader in a brewing rivalry at the club. Amad’s continued ascent into a bonafide first-team talent has coincided with Antony going through the worst patch of form of his career.
Amad started against Arsenal in Ten Hag’s first-choice team, with Antony replacing him for the second half.
The theme continued then too, as Amad was a threat throughout while Antony struggled to impress in the second half. With Alejandro Garnacho also returning and able to play on both wings, the clock is ticking for Antony.
Ten Hag’s trust in him is the only saving grace for the Brazilian right now but ultimately, performances talk louder than anything else and his have been silent. Fans complained a lot last season when he kept starting games early in the season but that might be about to change. A long time coming.
The new game model
Till this point, United have been far removed from the helter-skelter and chaotic style of play that frustrated fans and pundits last season.
They have tried to control games, play from the back, and shown a desire to press cohesively instead of just running after the man with the ball.
That has resulted in more convincing performances which should only improve as more players return from their holidays.
The new game model and the influence of a new coaching staff can already be seen as Arsenal was the first big test of the pre-season. The fixture against Betis will be a chance to polish it further before back-to-back stern assignments against Liverpool and Manchester City.
If the style of play is fixed, it addresses last season’s biggest problem.
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