Rosenborg vs Manchester United preview: Team news, line-ups, where to watch (24/07/2026)
Preview, team news, head-to-head, probable line-ups and where to watch Manchester United vs Rosenborg in a pre-season friendly at Lerkendal Stadion
Manchester United take on Rosenborg at Lerkendal Stadion in Norway on Friday, July 24, with Michael Carrick’s side stepping up pre-season preparations ahead of the 2026/27 Premier League opening weekend on August 21.
The Red Devils kicked off pre-season last week with a 1-0 defeat to Wrexham, and now face a string of high-profile friendlies in the weeks ahead, with games against Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan coming up.
Carrick is without his World Cup participants: Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot (Portugal), Matheus Cunha (Brazil), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco), Altay Bayindir (Turkey), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Senne Lammens (Belgium) and Lisandro Martinez (Argentina) are not yet due back to Carrington.
Rosenborg, on the other hand, are midway through the Eliteserien season, the Norwegian top division, where they currently lie in 10th place. This fixture comes at a tough time for the hosts, as they are currently not below expectations domestically and have a league game just three days after at home to Fredrikstad.
While the Norwegians will be better prepared physically, they will also have one eye on their more important commitments in the league.
Things have started to improve for Rosenborg in recent weeks, with back to back 3-0 wins over Kristiansund and Start, easing some of the pressure on head coach Freyr Alexandersson.
Team news
Rosenborg
Rosenborg have a healthy squad to choose from, although it remains to be seen just how many of their usual starters Alexandersson will risk with an important league game coming up next Monday.
Amin Chiakha is the team’s top scorer with five league goals in 13 matches, while Emil Konradsen Ceïde has three assists to his name. Neither are likely to be given too much game time ahead of league commitments, as will be the case with many other key first team players.
Manchester United
Benjamin Šeško remains unavailable as he continues to recover from a shin injury sustained towards the end of last season. New signing Karl Darlow will not be able to make his debut as he too is recovering from an injury.
Andrey Santos, signed from Chelsea, got some minutes against Wrexham and is expected to feature again on Friday.
First team players Harry Maguire, Ayden Heaven, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, Patrick Dorgu, Bryan Mbeumo and Joshua Zirkzee are also available for selection.
Head-to-head
The most recent Rosenborg vs Manchester United meeting came in a pre-season friendly in the summer of 2024. On that occasion, the Norwegian side came away with a 1-0 win over the Red Devils.
Predicted line-ups
Starting line-ups becomes tough to predict during pre-season, where the managers of both sides are more focused on distributing game-time to their entire squads ahead of the new season.
For Rosenborg, who are in the middle of their domestic season, things are different. For them, the priority is managing their best players ahead of an important league match on Monday, meaning that youth and squad players will be given more prominence than regular starters.
For United, getting their players up to speed a month out from the start of the new Premier League season is a top priority as Carrick waits for his World Cup participants to return from an extended break.
Manchester United predicted XI: Heaton, Amass, Heaven, Maguire, Yoro, Santos, Mount, Dorgu, Fletcher, Mbeumo, Zirkzee.
Key players to watch
Andrey Santos (Manchester United)
The Brazilian midfielder recently signed from Chelsea for £50m got his first minutes in a red shirt against Wrexham and will now be hoping to grow further into his role and requirements as pre-season rolls on.
Santos knows he can challenge for a spot in the first team XI as of next season and will be looking to impress Carrick in these warm-up matches.
Harry Amass (Manchester United)
The young left-back has a potentially big season ahead of him. Following loan spells last season, Amass has the chance to stake a claim to the left-back spot next season, either as a starter or as a backup. With the likes of Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot still away, this is a big chance for the youngster to impress the manager and earn a place in the first team squad.
Where to watch Rosenborg vs Manchester United
The friendly match between Rosenborg vs Manchester United kicks off at 17:00 BST on Friday, July 24 at Lerkendal Stadion in Norway.
The match will not be shown on any UK TV channel but is available for streaming via MUTV, Manchester United’s official channel.
Manchester United’s entire pre-season campaign will be broadcast on MUTV, which requires a £7.99 per month membership subscription.
Manchester United vs Rosenborg odds and prediction
According to the latest Manchester United vs Rosenborg odds, the English giants are the heavy favourites to secure a win at 17/20.
While Rosenborg are in better physical shape currently, they are expected to make changes ahead of their league match on Monday, which is reflected by their odds of 13/5 to win.
The odds of a draw are at: 3/1.
Prediction: Rosenborg 1-3 Manchester United
