Leeds United face Man United in a not-so-friendly fixture this weekend, with pre-season preparations underway for Ruben Amorim and Daniel Farke.
It’s been an eventful summer for Leeds United ahead of their return to the Premier League, which steps up a gear this weekend as they take on old foe Manchester United.
Leeds will have to wait until January 3 to renew hostilities in a competitive setting with the Red Devils, but they will lock horns in an intriguing pre-season game, which is the first for both teams this summer.
Ruben Amorim and Daniel Farke will both have big decisions to make in terms of featuring new signings, but also in rotating their squad for the game and each half as well.
Ruben Amorim will take a weakened Man United squad to Sweden to face Leeds
We exclusively revealed Leeds’ striker efforts have picked up ahead of facing Man United, but nothing will materialise in time for the game.
How and where to watch Man United vs Leeds has been explained, with Leeds facing Amorim and co. at the Strawberry Arena in the Swedish capital of Stockholm on Saturday, July 19.
However, Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic has explained Amorim’s plans ahead of the match. It’s unclear if Farke will match his approach to the fixture.
He wrote: “Overall, Amorim is planning for a small squad in pre-season to replicate the campaign ahead, which features no European football for the first time in 11 years.
“[Marcus] Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Jadon Sancho, and Tyrell Malacia are being told they must train separately from Amorim’s group and only arrive at Carrington at 5pm, after the first-team have left.”
A smaller squad is therefore expected, with international players also potentially missing if they have been allowed extra time off.
As for Leeds, Farke’s squad will return to Germany for pre-season training following the full-time whistle, and will once again play fixtures behind closed doors, with the date, venue, and even the opponents remaining under wraps and unleaked.
- READ MORE: What ‘Getafe sources’ are saying about Christantus Uche after an approach from Leeds United
Who misses out for Leeds in Sweden against Man United?
Willy Gnonto, Mateo Joseph and Brenden Aaronson could all miss the game on Saturday, with Gnonto and Joseph playing in the U-21s European Championships tournament.
That was all whilst Aaronson helped USMNT reach the Gold Cup final, which Mauricio Pochettino’s side lost to Mexico. It’s unclear if they will travel to Sweden and play any part at all.
Players like Jack Harrison are in pre-season training, and he will be eager to impress Farke and to get involved against Man United this weekend.
However, predicting what he does is harder still, but we still had a stab at a couple of different Leeds lineups for each half against Man United. Either way, it signifies the start of 2025/26 and a campaign Leeds fans can be excited for.
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