Man United announced their squad list for Saturday’s game with Atletico on Friday afternoon, with a strong group travelling to Norway
for the contest against Diego Simeone’s side, meaning that the game with Rayo will provide opportunities for a number of players in need of minutes.
The Red Devils have had a successful pre-season until this point, opening their preparations for the new campaign with a 4-0 victory over Liverpool in Thailand on July 12.
Erik ten Hag’s side then beat Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace in Melbourne before playing out a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa in Perth before heading back to Manchester last weekend.
The club also took part in a behind-closed-doors fixture with Wrexham on Wednesday, recording a 4-1 victory, with Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez both making
their unofficial debuts for the club; at the time of writing, there has been three new signings this summer, with Tyrell Malacia also arriving from Feyenoord.
This match will represent Ten Hag’s first home fixture in charge of Man United, and the new Premier League campaign is now just around the corner, with Brighton & Hove Albion visiting Manchester on August 7, and there will be pressure on the Dutchman to make the perfect start.
Rayo, meanwhile, are building towards their La Liga opener against Barcelona on August 13, with the team already taking part in four pre-season matches.
Andoni Iraola’s side opened their preparations for the new season with a 3-0 defeat at Freiburg on July 16 before recording a 2-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday four days later.
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Rayo then played out a 2-2 draw with Birmingham City on July 23 before beating Leganes 2-1 last time out, but it has been a relatively quiet transfer window for the club thus far, only bringing in three players, with Unai Lopez, Salvi Sanchezand Diego Lopez arriving on free transfers.
There has been talk over a return to the club for Diego Costa, although the move is yet to go through, so the former Chelsea forward will not be involved at Old Trafford this weekend.
Los Franjirrojos enjoyed a successful 2021-22 campaign on their return to the top flight, finishing in 12th position in the table, which represented their best performance in La Liga since 2015.
