Manchester United open the 2018/19 Premier League season on Friday night with a visit from Leicester City. There’s been plenty of doom and gloom around the club this summer — including a quiet transfer window, disappointing preseason results, and an irritable José Mourinho looming over all of it.
But the Reds have a chance to change this narrative with a strong performance against Claude Puel’s side. They’ll just have to do it a bit shorthanded. All twelve United players who competed at the World Cup this summer returned to preseason training late, with Paul Pogba and others only getting back on Monday.
Marcus Rashford, Phil Jones, and Romelu Lukaku generously cut short their summer break to rejoin the squad a few days early, but remain question marks for the season opener.