MAN UTD. BATTLE REAL MADRID FOR SUPER CUP

Their Premier League campaign may kick-off on Sunday but Manchester United's season properly begins on Tuesday. The Red Devils face Real Madrid in a glamour tie as they compete for the UEFA Super Cup in Skopje, Macedonia. Jose Mourinho and his Old Trafford stars where seen carried on a shuttle bus from Manchester airport to their actual aircraft on Monday morning. The annual clash between the winners of the Europa League and Champions League pits Jose Mourinho’s men against Zinedine Zidane’s side at the 33,460-capacity Philip II Arena. United new boy Nemanja Matic is in contention for a starting place having impressed in the first half of their 2-1 win over Sampdoria last Wednesday.

Fellow summer signings Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku are also in line to make their competitive debuts. Defensive duo Eric Bailly and Phil Jones are suspended but Mourinho otherwise has no absences to overcome, besides the long-term injured players Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw and Ashley Young. Bailly took to Instagram on Monday inside their plane to post a selfie with Antonio Valencia, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial with the caption: 'Macedonia, here we come!' Upon landing in Skojpe, Mourinho will hold a press conference before taking his squad for training. Speaking after their win over Sampdoria, the Portuguese manager said: 'Pre-season was good. I’m never tired to repeat how well organised it was. 'Everybody played, we tried many different things and didn’t care about the results – we cared about our evolution. On top of it, we had small injuries but not big ones so everybody is ready. 'Now it's the serious stuff with the Super Cup and the first Premier League match.' This is the second time in a few weeks that United and Real will have gone head-to-head with the former triumphing on penalties during their pre-season encounter in America.