Phil Parkinson has sent a warning to his players ahead of their clash with Man United in San Diego. The Wrexham boss is all too aware of the threat United possess, even with a number of big names expected to miss the trip.
Wrexham‘s pre-season in the United States is in full swing, with the North Wales club about to play their third game of their American tour. The Red Dragons kicked proceedings off with a sobering 5-0 loss to Premier League heavyweights Chelsea before bouncing back to beat LA Galaxy II, 4-0. Fans have turned out in their thousands to watch Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney‘s club, which continues to raise its profile overseas following the success of the documentary series, Welcome to Wrexham.
Wrexham take on Manchester United in pre-season clash
The games are coming thick and fast on Wrexham’s pre-season tour, with a clash against Manchester United taking place in the early hours of Wednesday (26 July) morning. The game takes place at 7:30 pm local time, which means it’s on at 3:30 am on Wednesday in the UK.
The game will take place at the 35,000-capacity Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.
Phil Parkinson sends warning to players ahead of Man United game
Wrexham have one defeat and one win on their pre-season record so far. They face a resurgent Manchester United team who are coming off the back of pre-season wins against Leeds and Lyon.
Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag is expected to field a weakened team against Wrexham supplemented with several under-21s players. However, Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson is well aware of the challenge United will present even with a number of youngsters in the line-up.
He told the club’s website :”Manchester United will dominate possession as they are a fantastic team. Even if they won’t be playing their main team, their periphery players are outstanding and are internationals.
“It will be a great exercise for us in working out of possession and being disciplined. We’re playing against a good team and need to be at our best. I think the balance for us is getting minutes in as many of the players as possible.
He added that the need for his players to improve their fitness ahead of the new season is also a major priority coming into the game. He said: “Other players will start the game, as we need to make sure that as many get back ready for the season as close to peak fitness as possible.”
How both teams could line-up
Speaking in a press conference on Monday evening, Ten Hag said: “We will strengthen the 21s with some players who are on tour with the first-team squad.”
Here’s the Man Utd squad set to feature vs Wrexham: Radek Vitek, Alvaro Fernandez, Kobbie Mainoo, Dan Gore, Sonny Aljofree, Marc Jurado, Isak Hansen-Aareon, Toby Collyer, Maxi Oyedele, Shola Shoretire, Noam Emeran, Joe Hugill, Omari Forson, Sonny Aljofree, Toby Collyer, Jonny Evans, Will Fish, Elyh Harrison, Willy Kambwala, Charlie McNeill, Dermot Mee, Mateo Mejia, Logan Pye.
Wrexham, meanwhile, are expected to use their full squad as Phil Parkinson attempts to raise the fitness levels of all his players.
Star striker Paul Mullin set to be joined in attack by Ollie Palmer, with Sam Dalby moving to the bench. New summer arrival Will Boyle should start at the back once again while Jordan Davies could also start.
Expected Wrexham lineup: Foster; Boyle, Tozer, Hayden; Forde, Jones, Cannon, Davies, Mendy; Mullin, Palmer