Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid — Strawberry Arena, Stockholm
Kickoff: 4:00 PM EAT**
The standout fixture of the night. United go into this as their toughest test of the summer so far, having opened preseason with a shock 1-0 loss to Wrexham before responding with a comfortable 5-0 win over Rosenborg — a game in which several academy prospects, including 19-year-old Shea Lacey, caught the eye.
Atletico arrive full of confidence themselves, having eased past Getafe 4-1 in their own opener under Diego Simeone.
Key context: Both squads are missing significant numbers of players still on extended breaks following deep World Cup runs. United are without Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martínez, Kobbie Mainoo, Matheus Cunha, Noussair Mazraoui and Marcus Rashford — essentially half a first-choice XI.
Atletico are similarly stretched, missing Álex Baena, Nahuel Molina, Giuliano Simeone, Alexander Sørloth, and new signing Alejandro Grimaldo.
Michael Carrick’s approach has been to give his available players sustained minutes rather than heavy rotation, meaning the XI United put out should still be reasonably cohesive.
Historically, this fixture has favoured Atletico — United haven’t beaten them in their last three meetings (one draw, two defeats), with the most recent, a 2022 friendly, ending 1-0 to the Spanish side.
Verdict: With both sides missing key attacking pieces and the head-to-head trend favouring Atletico, this looks like a tight, cagey affair rather than a shootout.
Expect goals to be at a premium.
Prediction: Draw or Atletico Madrid, both teams to score. Correct score lean: 1-1.
