All you need to know ahead of Manchester United vs Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup

In the first major match in Europe this season, Champions League winners Real Madrid is set to face Europa League winners Manchester United at the Philip II arena in Macedonia early on Wednesday as Jose Mourinho faces his former club. 

This is United’s fourth attempt at the Super Cup where in they have won it only once before while Real Madrid are preparing for their fourth win in their sixth outing. The Mancunians are also hoping to guide an English team to victory — first time since Liverpool in 2005 as United and Chelsea have lost it thrice since then. 
 

How the teams will be lining up 

The biggest misses for Mourinho ahead of the match would be defenders Eric Bailly and Phil Jones who are both suspended for previous offences. Nemanja Matic who has already gotten game time, just two days after his signing is likely to start in the match against Madrid. 

Mourinho has a fresh squad heading to the match as the Premier league begins in four days and the Portuguese can afford to use some of his second string squad for the match against West Ham on Sunday.       
 

For the Champions league winners, although Zinedine Zidane insisted that the Welshman ‘looked good’ after he limped out of training, Mourinho will be keeping a close eye on the developments there as speculations rise of a possible Bale switch to United. 

Cristiano Ronaldo who had caught all the eyeballs in the beginning of the summer with his ‘outburst’ over the Tax issue, the Ballon D’or winner is back in the Madrid contingent and looks likely to start. 

Head-to-Head 

It’s always been an interesting clash whenever Madrid has faced United in Europe. The two teams have so far faced each other 10 times with Madrid winning four of them while the English side has won it twice. The last time United faced Madrid, It was Ronaldo’s goal that proved decisive for the spanish team as they edged out United in the quarterfinals in 2012/13 season.   

Bale returning to England? 

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is known to create a spark through his statements but nobody probably expected this, when he claimed that United would ‘fight with other bosses’ to sign Gareth Bale if Madrid are willing to sell the forward. 

Gareth Bale joined the Los Blancos for a then world record fee of ￡85m from Tottenham Hotspurs in 2013. But with his future at the club in doubts, Mourinho has thrown in his hat if at all he’s moving.