Manchester United have traveled to Yokohama, Japan after their 5-1 defeat of the A-League All-Stars last Saturday in Sydney, Australia. Next up for the Reds is the club's third friendly of their pre-season tour against Yokohama F-Marinos at the Nissan Stadium (site of the 2002 World Cup final between Brazil and Germany).
David Moyes has been working with a relatively limited squad as of late in Thailand and Australia. Captain Nemanja Vidic, Nani, and Wayne Rooney still aren't with the club on tour due to injuries while the likes of Javier Hernandez (Chicharito), Antonio Valencia, Angelo Henriquez, Larnell Cole, and Guillermo Varela aren't either due to them being given extended rest after recent international duty. Chris Smalling and Ashley Young have recovered from their recent knocks and have joined the club in Yokohama as has Japan international Shinji Kagawa. Michael Carrick is on tour but he's a doubt after picking up a minor groin injury in Sydney. Here's a full listing of the players possibly available for this friendly:
* Goalkeepers: David de Gea, Anders Lindegaard, Ben Amos
* Defenders: Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Phil Jones, Michael Keane, Rafael, Fabio, Alexander Buttner, Patrice Evra, Chris Smalling
* Midfielders: Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Anderson, Ryan Giggs, Wilfried Zaha, Jesse Lingard, Adnan Januzaj, Shinji Kagawa, Ashley Young
* Forwards: Danny Welbeck, Robin van Persie
As always with friendlies, trying to decipher which players will start can be a futile exercise. Because of precaution, it's unlikely Carrick will feature but Jonny Evans and Alexander Buttner might after recovering from recent knocks sustained on tour. The players that have joined the club in Japan -- Smalling, Young, and Kagawa -- "probably won't start this game" according to the manager but the latter is likely to be involved at some point due to him being a sensation in his home country. Anders Lindegaard and Ben Amos have handled the goalkeeping duties thus far on tour so this might be a match that No.1 David de Gea makes his first appearance in on the pre-season tour.
Which players will you be keeping a close eye on? Will you be curious to know if Danny Welbeck can continue his recent goalscoring ways? Do you want to see more of impressive youngsters likeWilfried Zaha, Adnan Januzaj, and Jesse Lingard? Are you excited about the warm reception that Kagawa is likely to get in Yokohama? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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