AC Milan vs Manchester United
Manchester United are the most valuable football team in the world so it’s no wonder why all eyes will be on them when they take on AC Milan at Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the International Champions Cup.
There’s always a certain level of expectation that comes along with being one of football’s rich and elite, and Jose Mourinho knows they need to perform and produce good results even in a pre-season tournament like the ICC.
The Portuguese boss has recently said that it has been a “very bad” pre-season for them, but with their issues resolved and some key players returning after the World Cup 2018, the SBOBET odds are slowly swinging back in their favour.
Premier League 2018/19 is just around the corner, and Manchester United need games like this to develop their chemistry and to show they have enough depth to win against other giants of world football.
Talking Points
As mentioned, United’s summer has been far from ideal. They recently had problems with Alexis Sanchez’ visa and feared that he wouldn’t be able to join them for the duration of their US tour.
There’s also the issue about Diogo Dalot, their 19-year-old summer signing from Porto, who didn’t join the team due to injury.
Furthermore, it didn’t help that some of their big-name stars such as Romelu Lukaku, Marouane Fellaini, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Marcos Rojo and Nemanja Matic are still on vacation following their World Cup stints for their national teams.
With such undermanned squad, it’s hard to blame Mourinho for getting frustrated. After all, how can he prepare his team for the start of the Premier League season if the players he plans to field aren’t present?
Fortunately for them, Sanchez’s problem was quickly resolved and the Chilean forward was able to impress in their 0-0 friendly draw with the San Jose Earthquakes yesterday.
Moreover, despite Antonio Valencia’s calf injury, the Red Devils received some welcome developments with the performances of new signing Lee Grant, as well as 17-year-old-old midfielder James Garner and Scott McTominay.
Ahead of their opening game in the ICC against Milan, Mourinho has also confirmed that former Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred will be joining them along first-choice keeper David de Gea, who is coming off a disappointing spell with the Spain national team.
“Everything is good and Matic is in the hotel in LA waiting for us, a couple of days and David De Gea and Fred are arriving,” the Red Devils manager said. “Step by step we are making the squad ready for the opening day of the Premier League season.”
AC Milan, meanwhile, will be ready to provide a difficult challenge and test their own mettle against an unarguably deeper and more talented side.
Manager Gennaro Gattuso has a young core featuring Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alessio Romagnoli, Franck Kessie and Patrick Cutrone, and the Italian boss will undoubtedly look to guide his squad to a fine showing this July.
History
For the diehard football fan, the ICC is nothing more than just a glorified friendly—a competition that uses a format and ranking to encourage competitiveness and put some excitement to the games.
However, while it is non-competitive in nature, the ICC remains a great avenue for teams to see how they will fare against strong and proven clubs.
Not to mention that it’s a pretty good indicator of what to expect in the upcoming football season. In fact, the 2017 edition saw Barcelona emerge as champions of the USA leg while Manchester City ended up second. Both teams went on to win their respective domestic league titles.
Manchester United and AC Milan have never met in the ICC before, more so in a friendly, so it will be interesting to see how they will play against each other and what strategies their coaches will employ.
The two sides, though, have played in the Champions League in six previous occasions, splitting the results with three wins each. For what it’s worth, the Red Devils won their last two meetings in 2010 by an average of 3.5 goals a game.
What are the odds?
The International Champions Cup betting odds have Manchester United as the slight favourites with 1X2 odds paying out at 2.36. Meanwhile, Milan are at 2.83.
It could be a close affair sure, but SBOBET Asian Handicap sports betting still have the Red Devils as the more likely winners at Draw No Bet at 1.79.
A relatively low-scoring game might be on the books though. Total Goal 2-3 is at 2.86, which fits well with Under 2.75 odds that pay at 1.97 and Under 3.00 @ 1.72.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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