The pre-season period is finally starting to wind down, and that means that domestic football is right around the corner once again. Before that, though, the final series of International Champions Cup matches need to take place, with one of the biggest being set to go down tonight – Real Madrid vs Manchester United. It’s a rivalry as old as time with both of these clubs being viewed as the two biggest in world football, and now, they’ll get the chance to write another chapter in their respective stories when they meet at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.

Both clubs have gone through hardships over the last few months, with Real recovering from the departures of Zinedine Zidane & Cristiano Ronaldo whereas United have been forced to endure the ever-changing personality of manager Jose Mourinho. Alas, all of that will mean nothing in the grand scheme of the upcoming season, and both of these clubs will be incredibly eager to gain some momentum heading into the new campaign.

Real, with three consecutive European Cup triumphs under their belt, will try to do the unthinkable this year by making it a four-peat on the biggest stage of them all. They’ll also be aiming to wrestle back control of La Liga, too, as their bitter rivals Barcelona continue to set the pace domestically.

The Red Devils, on the other hand, are at a crossroads under the guidance of Portuguese boss Mourinho. Whilst the club has a fantastic squad they have yet to really utilise it to their full potential, with Manchester City, Liverpool & Tottenham all showcasing more consistency as of late. Things are going to get even tougher this season too, with Chelsea and Arsenal both looking strong ahead of the new campaign.

This game will serve as Real’s first of the pre-season, and the first of the Champions Cup. They’ll go head to head with United which will be followed up by two more tough challenges against Juventus and Roma, all of which will prepare them for their UEFA Super Cup showdown against local rivals Atletico Madrid.

On the other hand, because of United’s Premier League campaign getting underway a week earlier, this will be their final ICC game in the wake of mixed results against AC Milan and Liverpool. They managed to defeat the Italians 9-8 on penalties following a 1-1 draw but suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hands of Jurgen Klopp’s Reds.

Real Madrid vs Manchester United Betting Tip

Regarding this game, it’ll be interesting to see the strength of the teams in comparison to one another, especially given that Real have only really just begun their pre-season friendlies. This could be Mourinho’s final chance to see what kind of team he wants to put out against Leicester in the club’s Premier League opener, and while you’d think that would motivate them to the point where they could pull off an unlikely win here, we can’t see past a Madrid triumph.

They have the will to win burned into their DNA, and in this Battle of the former Ronaldo clubs, we’re predicting Real Madrid to run out 3-1 winners.

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