Previewing Manchester United’s pre-season tour

Manchester United are already two days into their official pre-season, with José Mourinho's men having landed in Los Angeles ahead of their forthcoming matches in the United States. Summer signing Victor Lindelöf has travelled with the rest of the first-team squad, who are soon to be joined by the inbound Romelu Lukaku. In total, there are seven friendlies to come before the UEFA Super Cup clash with Real Madrid in the second week of August; here’s all you need to know in preparation.

MLS friendlies

United first take to the field in two friendlies against opponents from Major League Soccer. The first is against LA Galaxy at the StubHub Center in five days time; the second follows two days later, when United travel to face Real Salt Lake at the Rio Tinto Stadium. It will be the first time United have ever placed Real Salt Lake; they last played LA Galaxy in the summer of 2014, when Louis van Gaal oversaw a 7-0 win.

International Champions Cup

The annual pre-season friendly tournament, the International Champions Cup, once again returns this summer. United start with a match against cross-town rivals Manchester City at the NRG Stadium on 20 July, before going head-to-head with Real Madrid at Levi's Stadium three days later. The ICC action draws to a close on July 26, when United take on Madrid’s El Clásico rivals Barcelona at Maryland’s FedEx Field.

European friendlies

Two further friendlies follow, though they’re back in Europe. The first comes on 30 July, when United take on Norway's Vålerenga in Oslo. They're currently midway through their domestic season, meaning this should be an excellent test of United’s fitness. United's final friendly is at Dublin's Aviva Stadium, when they clash with Serie A mid-table makeweights Sampdoria at Dublin's Aviva Stadium. It will offer an opportunity for final preparations ahead of the Super Cup final in Skopje six days later.

The squad

United have announced the squad that has travelled to the United States for the tour, and Romelu Lukaku isn’t yet on it. However, he has conveniently spent the summer holidaying with Paul Pogba in Los Angeles (and getting a citation after noise complaints), so he should soon be added to the list.