Manchester United will play Sampdoria in an upcoming friendly in Ireland. The match will be played at the iconic Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Wednesday evening August 2nd, 2017. Kick-off is scheduled for 19:45 (7:45pm) BST.
Jose Mourinho and his Manchester United side returned to European soil with 3-0 victory over Valerenga in Norway on Sunday, following a successful couple of weeks in the States where United won four out of their five fixtures. Romelu Lukaku found the net for the third time since making the move from Merseyside to Manchester while United academy graduate Scott McTominay rounded off the scoring with his first senior goal for the club in the win in Oslo as Mourinho’s men marched on towards their season-opening UEFA Super Cup clash against Champions League winners Real Madrid on August 8th.
Manchester United Pre-Season Results:
Jul 15 – LA Galaxy 2-5 Manchester United Jul 17 – Real Salt Lake 1-2 Manchester United Jul 20 – Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City Jul 23 – Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester United (United won 2-1 on penalties) Jul 26 – Barcelona 1-0 Manchester United Jul 30 – Valerenga 0-3 Manchester United
Sampdoria, managed by Swiss-born Marco Giampaolo, finished in a respectable 10th place in the Italian Serie A and will provide a stern test for the three-time European Champions. They boast a talented squad including the likes of Filip Duricic and Fabio Quagliarella and kicked off their pre-season preparations in style when they slotted 11 goals without reply past fellow Italian outfit Sellero Novelle. New signing, 23-year-old Gianluca Caprari scored a hat-trick in that game before bagging the winner a week later, beating FeralpiSalo 1-0.
Sampdoria Pre-Season Results:
Jul 15 – Sampdoria 11-0 Sellero Novelle Jul 22 – Sampdoria 1-0 FeralpiSalo Jul 26 - Sampdoria 3-0 Cremonese Jul 29 – Sampdoria 0-1 Verona
[caption id="attachment_1048" align="alignnone" width="594"] Current Man Utd Goalkeeper Sergio Romero in action for Former Club Sampdoria[/caption]
The two sides have never faced each other before so Wednesday’s meeting will, in one way or another, be a truly historic encounter. United back-up keeper Sergio Romero, who starred in their successful Europa League campaign last season will face his former club for the first time. Romero spent four years at the Genoa-based club in North-Western Italy making a total of 74 appearances for them in goal before signing for the Red Devils in 2015.