Ole Gunnar Solskjær is expected to spring a big surprise in his Manchester United starting XI for their Premier League opener against Leeds United next weekend.
In the Red Devils’ 4-0 demolition of Everton in their final pre-season friendly, the performance of Nemanja Matic stood out in a first half where the two sides looked poles apart.
Solskjær has often opted for a midfield pairing of Scott McTominay and Fred in front of his back four but the Serbian’s impressive pre season is likely to earn him a place in the line-up against Leeds next week.
The stability of Matic, alongside forgotten man Donny Van de Beek, allowed the dangerous Bruno Fernandes more freedom in the final third.
Whites fans will not be too enamoured to hear of the Portuguese midfielder’s increased attacking intent after he scored two goals and assisted one in his side’s 6-2 thrashing of Leeds at Old Trafford last season.
That remains a result that players and fans alike are eager to avenge when they travel to the North West next weekend.
However, the performance of Man United in Saturday’s friendly will worry even the most optimistic of Leeds supporters as goals from Mason Greenwood, Harry Maguire, Fernandes and Diogo Dalot blew away a poor Everton side.
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Incidentally, the Toffees are the first visitors to Elland Road, a fixture that Leeds fans will be increasingly confident of winning.
Since the end of the 2020/21 campaign, there has been continuous uncertainty at Goodison Park. The departure of Carlo Ancelotti to Real Madrid brought the unpopular arrival of Rafa Benitez who has been unable to convince wantaway James Rodriguez to stay at the club.
On top of that, they have played just three pre-season fixtures with two coming against weaker Colombian and Mexican opposition and the other coming at Old Trafford.
Whilst Leeds will get a better handle of how well prepared the Merseyside club are for the new campaign next weekend, their attention is solely on their own match against Man United.