In the words of Lyle Lovett, “that’s right, you’re not from Texas, but Texas loves you anyway.” I’m not from Texas either, and honestly, I’m totally fine with that. The Lone Star State welcomes Manchester United and Real Madrid in tomorrow night for a historical rematch.
Yes, the highest attended football/soccer match ever staged on American soil occurred on Aug. 2, 2014, when Real Madrid lost to Manchester United 3-1 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. About 109,318 crammed into Michigan Stadium, on the University of Michigan campus, to see that friendly.
Club Friendly FYIs
Real Madrid vs Manchester United
Kickoff: Wed. July 26, 1:30am BST, NRG Stadium, Houston, TX, USA
Real Madrid Preview Content: Starting XI Prediction Team News
Man United Preview Content: Starting XI Prediction Team News
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Watch: ESPN2, ESPN+, DAZN, MUTV
Real Madrid Last Time Out
There won’t be as many fans this time around, in Houston, but they’ll be a very big crowd on Wednesday night. There was another massive crowd, at the very historic Rose Bowl, on Sunday night to see Madrid score a thrilling come-from-behind win over AC Milan.
After falling behind 2-0 to Milan, Federico Valverde scored two second-half goals to equalize in Pasadena. Vinicius than netted the game winner in the 83. in the victory over Milan
Real Madrid Team News
Carlo Ancelotti only has one major injury to contend with and that’s Arda Guler, who is still on the struggle bus with discomfort in his leg. It’s kept him out of training, but other than that, the squad is pretty much match fit. Expect the Italian to field a very strong side for this one, and it could look like this.
Real Madrid Starting XI Prediction vs Man United
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Kroos; Valverde, Modric; Bellingham; Joselu, Vinicius
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.