Man United take on Fiorentina in their final pre-season friendly of the summer at Old Trafford on Saturday.
George is a Senior Football Writer for the Manchester Evening News, mostly covering Manchester United. He previously worked for football.london before joining the MEN team in July 2021. As well as covering United, George is a Championship-enthusiast and co-hosts The Championship Chat Podcast (@Champchatpod24), which you can find on all major podcast platforms.
Bryan Mbeumo in action for Manchester United against Everton.
Bryan Mbeumo will be eyeing a first appearance at Old Trafford.(Image: Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.)
Manchester United will be eyeing a winning conclusion to their pre-season schedule when they face Fiorentina at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime.
United returned to home soil earlier this week after a successful tour of the United States saw them win the Premier League Summer Series. They beat West Ham United (2-1) and Bournemouth (4-1) before drawing 2-2 with Everton to win the tournament.
Head coach Ruben Amorim was able to take plenty of positives from his side's performances, with several individuals producing a crop of eye-catching displays.
With the visit of Fiorentina marking United's final dress rehearsal ahead of next Sunday's season opener against Arsenal, there is a high probability the Portuguese chief will deploy as close a starting XI to the one he has in mind for the season curtain-raiser.
With the visit of the Serie A club poised to come too soon for goalkeeper Andre Onana to return from his hamstring injury, Altay Bayindir could chalk up his fourth start of pre-season. Despite uncertainties over his future, he remains United's second-choice goalkeeper.
Leny Yoro was a strong performer throughout the tour of the US and is a shoo-in at right-sided centre-back. Ayden Heaven could reclaim the left-sided centre-back spot from Luke Shaw.
In the middle of the back-three, Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire have been fighting tooth and nail to earn that spot ahead of the start of the season. After starting the draw with Everton on the bench, the latter could bag a start for this one.
Amad and Patrick Dorgu are the obvious picks in the wing-back department and deserve to start. Dorgu has enjoyed a really strong pre-season campaign thus far and even chipped in with a goal in the win over Bournemouth.
Bruno Fernandes has flittered between the centre of midfield and the No.10 positions this summer, but he is increasingly likely to start the campaign in the engine room, meaning he could start in midfield for this one.
There is a sense of strong competition to partner him, and Manuel Ugarte could get the nod to offer a sense of defensive nous. Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro may have to settle for places on the bench.
In attack, Bryan Mbeumo will be eyeing another start after storing 45 minutes under his belt against Everton in Atlanta last Sunday night. Matheus Cunha is expected to start as the other No.10.
Benjamin Sesko is not officially a United player just yet, meaning Rasmus Hojlund could return to the starting XI and lead the attack.
How Manchester United could line up against Fiorentina.
United predicted XI vs Fiorentina: Bayindir; Yoro, Maguire, Heaven; Amad, Ugarte, Fernandes, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Cunha; Hojlund.