Manchester United play their first match of the Tour 2010 against their British rival, Glasgow Celtic, at the Rogers Center in Toronto on Friday evening, and like every other time these two sides have met, it will have a bit of an edge to it.
United have had a busy first five days since arriving on the 12th of July in the United States, so it will be good for the players to get out of the promotional circus side of things, and get back to business on the field.
These pre-season matches, especially this one, will give Sir Alex Ferguson an idea of what areas of the squad he needs to improve as well as to where the surplus maybe.
Ferguson will be keeping in the back of his mind that around 10 first-choice players through injury or resting up from the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The likes of Wayne Rooney, Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand will play no part in the summer tour of America, which is positive signs for the budding reserve team players Federico Macheda, Richie De Laet and new signing, Chris Smalling.
About
Like United, Celtic has had a very illustrious history and were the first British team to win the European Cup in 1967 - the year before United did - but in the last couple of seasons they have struggled to replicate that form.
Celtic failed to win a trophy last season for the first time since 1999, which explains why they let their newly-appointed manager Tony Mowbray leave before season's end.
His replacement, Neil Lennon, finally was appointed on a permanent basis following his interim appointment back in March.
The 39-year old played for Celtic from 2000 - 2007, so Lennon should be well aware that failure is not an option - especially at the expense of their hated rival Rangers.
Celtic have learned their fate and will face Portuguese side, Braga, in the third round of the UEFA Champions League.
Lennon has added three players since taking over with Joe Ledley (Cardiff City), Cha Du-Ri (SC Freiburg) and Daryl Murphy (Sunderland), but he has also let Stephen McManus (Middlesbrough) and Artur Boruc (Fiorentina) leave the club.
However, their best player, Aiden McGeady, has wanted away from the green-half of Glasgow for the last two years, and his departure looks even more imminent now.
No matter who Sir Alex Ferguson opts for in the starting line-up, each Manchester United player will give it their all because they have to fight for places in the upcoming season.
The match can be seen live on ESPN2 at 7.00pm EST.
Squad
Goalkeepers: E. van der Sar, T. Kuszczak, B. Amos
Defenders: W. Brown, R. De Laet, J. Evans, Fabio, J.O'Shea, Rafael, C. Smalling
Midfielders: T. Cleverley, D. Fletcher, D. Gibson, R. Giggs, Nani, C. Evans, G. Obertan, P. Scholes
Forwards: D. Berbatov, M. B. Diouf, J. Hernandez (Houston - 7/27), F. Macheda, D. Welbeck
Prediction
Manchester United 3, Glasgow Celtic 1
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