Man United v Dortmund: Germans in better shape for ICC clash
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The Jose Mourinho era at Manchester United kicked off unofficially with a 2-0 win over Championship Wigan last weekend, but the Red Devils now face a much sterner test in the form of Borussia Dortmund.
The German club are much further into their pre-season regime than United, and this clash – the first of this year’s International Champions Cup – is their fifth tie of the summer.
Meanwhile, Mourinho’s comments in the press this week have made clear the Portuguese manager sees this game as another 90-minute warm-up.
The former Chelsea boss has already announced he will play Phil Jones alongside Eric Bailly, having partnered the United new boy with Daley Blind last time out, as he seeks to learn more and more about the squad at his disposal.
With that in mind, it may well be worth looking at the Bundesliga outfit for victory at 13/8, with United 6/4 for the game in Shanghai.
Like Bailly, summer signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan also featured at the DW Stadium last Saturday, and the winger is set to face an early reunion with his former club.
Those who played at the Euros or Copa America however, including Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss out as they recuperate from their summer exertions.
Dortmund have recently recaptured Mario Gotze from Bayern Munich, but the World Cup winner won’t be featuring here.
Mkhitaryan is set to come across a few familiar faces, as will Adnan Januzaj and former United player Shinji Kagawa.
Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel had fewer players away at tournaments this summer, and as such has largely used the same squad for each of his side’s four pre-season games.
It won’t be a surprise then to see a little more cohesion from BvB, with United still finding their feet in addition to the absence of many key players.
Mourinho is under no illusions as to what this game represents, merely the latest small step in his next chapter, so don’t expect any touchline tantrums at the Shanghai Stadium.
Two of Dortmund’s four friendlies have seen over 4.5 goals, and as ever with a pre-season game, we can expect a slightly more open encounter than a competitive meeting.
Meanwhile another goalfest of over 4.5 goals can be backed at 4/1.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
