The UEFA Super Cup takes place at the Philip II Arena in Macedonia on Tuesday evening, with the respective Champions League and Europa League winners, Real Madrid and Manchester United, facing off against each other. With the likes of Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba set to feature, there could well be fireworks on the field, with plenty of bets expected at major bookmakers.
Despite United having beaten Zinedine Zidane’s men on penalties during their pre-season trip to the United States, it is the reigning La Liga champions who are the favourites going into the encounter, despite Cristiano Ronaldo missing out following his international commitments with Portugal. For those looking to place a bet on this match, let’s take a look at the two teams, as well as our top betting tip.
Real Madrid
Having won the double under Zidane last season, the pressure is once again on the Madrid giants to get the better of their rivals both domestically and on the European scene. Real Madrid suffered International Champions Cup defeats to United, Manchester City and Barcelona over recent weeks, however they are likely to return to somewhere near their best against Jose Mourinho’s side. In the absence of Ronaldo, the likes of Bale, Karim Benzema and Lucas Vazquez are set to line up in attack, with Sergio Ramos and Marcelo helping to make up a back-line who were consistently difficult to breach last season.
Manchester United
United have suffered just one defeat during pre-season, coming against Madrid’s fierce rivals Barcelona, however Mourinho is still working hard to ensure that his players build upon their performances of last season. Despite having finished sixth in the Premier League table, United beat Ajax to win the Europe League final, ensuring that they will feature in the Champions League this season.
Lukaku has joined Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic in arriving at Old Trafford this summer, with United’s physicality potentially causing Real problems on Tuesday evening. With Pogba now set to be given more freedom in the United midfield, the Frenchman will be looking to show the Spanish side what they missed out on, with Real having failed to sign the former Juventus man before he joined United last summer.
Top Betting Tip
Despite United having defeated Real Madrid just a matter of weeks ago, our top betting tip is to back Zidane’s side to lift the trophy on Tuesday. Super Cup clashes can often be cagey affairs, meaning that extra time and penalties are often required. Our tip is to back Real Madrid to lift the trophy, which can be found at best odds of 2/5 at William Hill.