Real Madrid vs. Manchester United | USC Preview

The UEFA Super Cup final between Real Madrid and Manchester United will be the 11th game in the history of the battle between these two teams. Jose Mourinho is going to lead The Red Devils against one of his former teams. The Special One was in charge of Los Blancos 2010 and 2013. It’s interesting that Real Madrid are the current winners of the Super Cup. They have won it 3 times in total, while The Red Devils have lifted the trophy just once – in 1991.

Head 2 Head

The Red Devils have only won twice of 10 attempts against Real Madrid. Los Blancos have recorded 4 victories, while there have been the same number of draws. The last time these two teams met in a competitive game was in 2013 in The Champions League 1/8 finals. The first leg in Madrid finished with a 1-1 draw, but Los Blancos won at Old Trafford 1-2 with a Ronaldo’s goal in the second half. Now, the match will be at a neutral pitch – in Skopje, Macedonia.

These two teams met in a frendly match this summer in Santa Clara, California. The game finished with a draw, but The Red Devils won after penalties. Jesse Lingard opened the score for Manchester United in the added time of the first half. Casemiro equalized in the 69th minute with a shot from the penalty spot.

Key Players

Zinedine Zidane has recently announced his squad for the match and it became clear that he has included the biggest star of the Spanish club – Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese was expected to miss the game, just like he did it last season, but his desire to play is so big that the French manager can’t refuse his star a participation in the match. However, Ronaldo will probably sit on the bench, because he has a lack of playing time during the Real Madrid’s summer pre-season games. All the other players, who will take part in the game are the same, who won La Liga and The Champions League last campaign. So, even though Cristiano Ronaldo probably wouldn’t start, the task in front of Man United won’t be easier.

On the other hand, the team of the Red Devils seems to be much stronger than last campaign. The players know each other well now and the signing of Romelu Lukaku, Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic will boost the class in the squad. Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Romelu Lukaku will probably be the main threats for Keylor Navas. In addition, Anthony Martial is also in a very good form and will surely find a place in the starting XI.

Both Teams in the Competition

Real Madrid have won the UEFA Super Cup on 3 occasions (2002, 2014 and 2016). Los Blancos have also lost two final games (1998 and 2000). They recorded an incredible 3-2 victory against Sevilla after extra time last season and lifted the trophy. Los Blancos are two trophies down from the record winners of the cup – Milan and Barcelona (5 times).

Manchester United have taken part in 3 final games and have only won the cup once – in 1991. They beat Red Star Belgrade 1-0 in the final.

Possible Strating XIs:

Real Madrid (4-3-3): Keylor Navas; Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Daniel Carvajal, Raphael Varane; Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric; Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio.

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): David de Gea; Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling, Matteo Darmian, Daley Blind; Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera; Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford; Romelu Lukaku.