Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid: Prediction, kick-off time, TV, live stream, team news, h2h results, odds | OneFootball

Michael Carrick preparing for Red Devils’ Champions League return after two-year absence

This is United’s third summer friendly so far. They started with a 1-0 loss to Wrexham in Finland before beating Rosenborg 5-0 in Norway. The latter saw out-of-favour striker Joshua Zirkzee get his name on the scoresheet, alongside academy graduates Shea Lacey, Jacob Devaney, Harry Mass and Ethan Williams.

Against Diego Simeone’s side, Michael Carrick will hope to field £30m signing Youri Tielemans and first-choice goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who both returned to Carrington after their participation with Belgium at the World Cup.

Fellow new signing Andrey Santos - who joined from Chelsea for £48m - has started both of the Red Devils’ pre-season games so far and is hoping to cement a place in United’s midfield for the upcoming season as they prepare for their Champions League return.

Atletico will be without Julian Alvarez for the match as he remains on holiday following the World Cup. The striker has been linked with moves to Barcelona and Arsenal this summer, but Atletico remain adamant they do not want to sell the player.

Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid is scheduled for a 2pm BST kick-off on Saturday, August 1, 2026.

The match will take place at Strawberry Stadium in Solna, Sweden.

Where to watch Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid

TV channel and live stream: In the UK, the game will be televised live on MUTV, Manchester United’s in-house video streaming service.

All of United’s pre-season fixtures will be broadcast via MUTV, which requires a membership. A subscription costs £29.99 per year or £7.99 per month.

Carrick can recall a team closer to full-strength after Tielemans and Lammens reported for pre-season. This may allow Mason Mount - who has been partnering Santos at the base of midfield - to push further up and support the attack.

The Old Trafford side are still without several players who participated in the World Cup. The most significant of these is captain Bruno Fernandes, whose Portugal side were beaten 1-0 by eventual winners Spain in the quarter-finals.

Also missing are Brazil’s Matheus Cunha and Argentina’s Lisandro Martinez. The latter suffered an injury in the World Cup final and may miss the start of the season.

This means Harry Maguire and Ayden Heaven are likely to remain the team’s centre-back pairing, while Zirkzee will continue as the lone striker with Benjamin Sesko still carrying a shin injury.

Boost: £30m signing Tielemans arrives after World Cup duty

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Atleti have made three signings this summer, but only two are available: Danish midfielder Morten Hjulmand and Alejandro Grimaldo.

South Korea international Lee Kang-In, who joined from PSG for £34.2m (€40m), is yet to join his new club due to complications involving military service in his home country.

Ademola Lookman is their dangerman amid Alvarez’s absence - the Nigeria international scored a brace in a friendly win over Getafe a few days ago.

Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid prediction

Manchester United will hope to carry on where they left off against Rosenborg, but Atleti will provide the toughest opposition of their pre-season so far.

They do have Tielemans to add some nous to their midfield, but the Belgian is unlikely to feature from the start, so the Mount-Santos double pivot will have to continue.

Whether this is strong enough to hold off Koke and Hjulmand remains to be seen. Whether Maguire and Heaven can prevent Lookman from bagging is another matter altogether.

Expect a tight game, but don’t read too much into the result, with both sides still missing key players.

Man United 2-2 Atletico Madrid

Head to head (h2h) history and results

Manchester United wins: 0

Atletico Madrid wins: 1

Draws: 1

Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid match odds

Manchester United to win: 21/10

Atletico Madrid to win: 2/1