Manchester United will hope to wrap up pre-season with a victory at Old Trafford against Fiorentina and one familiar face in particular.
Ruben Amorim will be quietly delighted with the progress which has been made over the past few months at Manchester United, both on the pitch and behind the scenes.
On the pitch, United have been drastically better in terms of style of play and also creating chances.
Amorim has put in lots of work on the training ground to accomplish this, with every player now far more understanding in their roles within this 3-4-2-1 system.
Off the field, Luke Shaw has spoken about the team unity at United which Amorim has helped to create by ridding ‘stragglers’ from the group and resetting the dressing room which has resulted in a happy squad.
The real test will come a week on Sunday, when United take on Arsenal at Old Trafford for the Premier League opener with bragging rights on the line and the chance to make a proper statement to begin the campaign.
But there is still one final pre-season clash to play, with United taking on Fiorentina.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox – Premier League/Getty ImagesHow Manchester United should line-up against Fiorentina at Old Trafford
There will be several interesting stories at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon as pre-season comes to a close.
United welcome back legendary goalkeeper David de Gea for the first time since he was released in 2023.
While United are expected to unveil the signing of Benjamin Sesko in front of an almost full Old Trafford.
However, these will take a back seat when the whistle blows and United are back on home turf.
Here is how we predict United will line-up.
With the line-up to face Fiorentina, we are working on the basis of it being the team that will face Arsenal. So with Andre Onana not ready to return, it will be between Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton, with the latter being our preferred option having proven himself the better goalkeeper during pre-season.
On the right side of the back three, Leny Yoro is one of the first names on the teamsheet and looks set to have a breakout campaign so he’s almost a definite to start for United against Arsenal, so also will here.
Next to Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt has been immense during pre-season and at the moment appears to be above Harry Maguire in the pecking order.
This will be a huge season for the Dutchman and we fully expect him to smash it.
On the left of the three, Amorim has given Luke Shaw plenty of minutes this summer and it should continue here as he looks to stake a claim to start against Arsenal, while Ayden Heaven will be hoping to earn a place in the team himself.
Amad will likely be United’s right wing-back for the majority of the campaign, but with Arsenal in mind, we expect that Amorim chooses a slightly more defensive minded option in Diogo Dalot.
Dalot is a team leader and while not likely to play every game, the Portuguese defender has a vital role in the United team and he starts here and against Arsenal.
Manuel Ugarte had a howler against Everton in the last pre-season game United played, but prior to this he was showing signs of improvement and deserves another chance here.
It will be either Ugarte or Casemiro against Arsenal, so a statement performance is needed.
In midfield alongside Ugarte, we expect to see Bruno Fernandes back in the eight. Fernandes had an excellent pre-season campaign with most of his best work when he played deeper.
Patrick Dorgu is one of United’s biggest winners from pre-season so far as he has been on another level, showing that he is set for a huge second season at the club. Hopefully, more of the same against Fiorentina.
Despite Bryan Mbeumo being behind his teammates in match fitness, Amorim will want him starting against Arsenal and therefore we expect he will play at least 60 minutes on Saturday.
Mbeumo showed some nice moments against Everton, but he should be much better here on his Old Trafford debut for United.
Alongside Mbeumo, we expect that Matheus Cunha is back in the starting line-up so that United’s new star duo get more time to work together on the pitch and build relationships.
Cunha has been impressive for United in almost every aspect since making the move, but he will now want to get a goal ahead of the Premier League season starting.
Leading the line, it could be Joshua Zirkzee, however we think Amorim will want to play Hojlund, for the reason that he is most like Benjamin Sesko and so it would be the best test of the system with a number nine.
Hojlund’s United career is on the verge of being over, but we think he at least gets the start here, perhaps we see a goodbye as loan rumours are heating up for the Dane.
Manchester United XI vs Fiorentina / GRV Media