Sporting Lisbon v. Manchester United - Preview

Set for Debut

By Chris O'Brien
August 6 2003

New signing Eric Djemba-Djemba is expected to make his debut, as United play their fifth pre-season friendly against Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon. Fabien Barthez and Mikael Silvestre are both set for their first United game of the season after missing the pre-season tour of the United States. United kick

Sporting Lisbon v. Manchester United
Wednesday 6th August 2003
Friendly Match

Following their very successful tour of the United States, United continue their pre-season preparations with a friendly against Sporting Lisbon.

The arrangement of this fixture has come under criticism from many Red Devils supporters, as it will give United only a couple of days to prepare for the Sunday's Community Shield match against Arsenal on Sunday. However, United do have a link-up arrangement with Sporting, and it is believed that a playing a friendly against them may be part of the agreement between the two clubs.

United also face Stoke City in a friendly next Tuesday, meaning the players could be facing fatigue ahead of the league opener against Bolton Wanderers on August 16th.

Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to make changes to tonight's starting line-up from the one that impressively beat Barcelona 3-1 on Sunday. Fabien Barthez, Mikael Silvestre and new signing Eric Djemba-Djemba have all joined up with the squad, following their rest after participation in the Confederations Cup, with all three expected to start the game.

Kieran Richardson and Darren Fletcher are both also expected to be involved in the match, and Sir Alex will have a close eye on both, as they aim to stake a claim for a regular place in the United first-team squad.

South African international Quinton Fortune and French winger David Bellion could both also start, with a couple of United's bigger names put on the bench, as they recover their fitness from the four match USA tour.

The game is taking place at Lisbon's Antonio Dias da Cunha Stadium, with a massive attendance of 55,000 expected for the friendly.

For those of you not lucky enough to be in Portugal, the match is being shown live on MUtv, with coverage starting at 9.15pm.

One to Watch - Mario Jardel

29-year-old Mario Jardel is one of the best talents in the Lisbon squad.

His electric pace, and neat dribbling has seen him score many goals for the Portuguese outfit, and should he play, he will undoubtedly cause United some problems.

The player has been strongly linked with a move to Brazilian side Santos, as well as receiving interest from both Tottenham Hotspur and Glasgow Rangers in recent months.

ManUtdWeb Prediction - Sporting Lisbon 1-1 Manchester United

United will be missing a few bigger names, and following the tiring US tour, many of the starting players could start to show tiredness in the latter stages.

A massive crowd will be behind Lisbon, and I would be pleased with a draw.

U-N-I-T-E-D

Manchester United Crest