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Saturday, 8 August 2026 · Kick-off: 16:00 BST (17:00 local)
PSG arrive in Gothenburg as back-to-back Champions League winners with the UEFA Super Cup against Aston Villa just four days away, lending Saturday's friendly against Manchester United a competitive edge that most pre-season games never carry.
Michael Carrick's side come in having scored seven goals across their last two Swedish tour fixtures, and the return of Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui and Matheus Cunha to Carrington earlier this week gives United a significantly stronger look than the squad that faced Rosenborg and Atletico Madrid.
Preview: Manchester United vs PSG
Manchester United finished the 2025-26 Premier League season in third place, accumulating 71 points from 20 wins, 11 draws and seven defeats – enough to return the club to the Champions League after a season's absence spent in the Europa League.
Much of that recovery happened under Carrick, who replaced Ruben Amorim in January and compiled a record of 12 wins, three draws and two defeats in 17 league matches, averaging 2.29 points per game.
Bruno Fernandes was the defining figure: the Portuguese midfielder claimed the Football Writers' Association Player of the Year award and set a new single-season Premier League record with 21 assists, surpassing the previous mark of 20 shared by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry.
The summer window reinforced the midfield significantly, with Andrey Santos arriving from Chelsea for 56.3 million euros and Youri Tielemans signing from Aston Villa after his release clause of 41 million euros was triggered.
Rasmus Hojlund left for Napoli in a deal worth 44 million euros, while Casemiro joined Inter Miami on a free transfer, leaving Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko – who each scored 12 goals across all competitions in 2025-26 – as the main attacking options heading into the new season.
PSG sealed a fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title in 2025-26, finishing with 76 points from 34 games, 74 goals scored and only 29 conceded, before adding a second successive Champions League crown in Budapest.
The path through Europe was the more impressive story: Chelsea were beaten 8-2 on aggregate in the round of 16, Liverpool eliminated in the quarter-finals, and Bayern Munich negotiated across a two-legged semi-final that produced a wild first leg with Kvaratskhelia scoring twice in a 5-4 win in Paris.
The final against Arsenal went to penalties after a 1-1 draw, with PSG winning 4-3 and Vitinha taking the player of the match award.
PSG's 44 goals across that run was the second highest total in a single Champions League campaign, behind only Barcelona's 45 in the 1999-2000 edition (SI.com), an output that underlines why Ousmane Dembele – the club's 20-goal top scorer across all competitions in 2025-26 – will be missed here even as he rests from his World Cup campaign with France.
Luis Enrique opened his pre-season on 5 August and lost 3-0 to Mallorca with a squad made up entirely of non-World Cup players and early tournament eliminees, meaning the group that lines up in Gothenburg will be meaningfully stronger despite still missing five French internationals.
Team news: Manchester United vs PSG
Manchester United
Four significant first-team players returned to Carrington on Monday, 3 August: Fernandes, Dalot, Mazraoui and Matheus Cunha reported back after post-World Cup leave, and all four are expected to feature at the Ullevi.
Tielemans arrived back at the training ground before that quartet but has been managing a hamstring tendon problem sustained during Belgium's World Cup campaign, with his involvement here likely to depend on how he has responded to the week of work.
Sesko has been nursing a shin problem since the end of the Premier League season, but reports indicate he trained without restriction during the week and could play some part against PSG.
Mainoo is absent – England's World Cup run extended his summer significantly – but he carries no injury and should be available well before the season begins.
The two long-term absences are de Ligt, who underwent back surgery and will not return until October, and Ugarte, whose serious knee injury has no confirmed timeline for recovery.
PSG
Marquinhos, Vitinha and Joao Neves are the most notable additions to the Gothenburg squad compared with the Mallorca game, returning to the campus in the first week of August after Portugal and Brazil were both knocked out at the round of 16 (PariFans.fr).
Kvaratskhelia did not feature at the World Cup and has been in training since 25 July, giving him the most pre-season work of any forward in the squad – a significant advantage as this friendly approaches full competitive intensity ahead of the Super Cup.
Willian Pacho and Ibrahim Mbaye were both on the bench against Mallorca and arrive with a week of structured training behind them, while Ilya Zabarnyi was also part of that initial group and is expected to start in central defence.
The collective absence of Dembele, Barcola, Zaire-Emery, Doue and Hernandez – all quarter-finalists with France – means PSG's most potent attacking combination is unavailable, though the remaining forward options around Kvaratskhelia are still considerable at this level of opposition.
Nuno Mendes is the main fitness concern: the Portuguese left-back picked up a knock during Portugal's final World Cup match and the club have yet to provide an update on whether he is fit to play any part in Sweden.
Predicted XIs for Manchester United vs PSG
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Yoro, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Andrey Santos, Mount; Dorgu, Fernandes, Diallo; Mbeumo. Manager: Michael Carrick.
PSG (4-3-3): Safonov; Pacho, Zabarnyi, Beraldo, Marquinhos; Mayulu, Vitinha, Joao Neves; Kvaratskhelia, Dro Fernandez, Mbaye. Manager: Luis Enrique.
Head-to-head: Manchester United vs PSG
PSG lead the all-time head-to-head series three wins to two across five meetings, with no draw ever recorded between the clubs.
The most recent competitive encounter came in the 2020-21 Champions League group stage: United won the first fixture 2-1 in Paris, but PSG reversed that with a 3-1 win at Old Trafford that secured their qualification from the group.
The fixture that defined the rivalry historically was the 2018-19 Champions League round of 16, when PSG took a 2-0 first-leg lead at Old Trafford through goals from Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe, before United completed a 3-1 comeback at the Parc des Princes to advance on the away goals rule then in place.
The only previous meeting on neutral ground came at the 2015 International Champions Cup in Chicago, where PSG won 2-0.
Saturday's friendly in Gothenburg will be just the sixth encounter in the clubs' history and the second at a neutral venue.
Manchester United vs PSG predictions and betting tips
- Kvaratskhelia's left-flank threat against Yoro at right-back is the most likely route to a PSG opening goal – the 19-year-old has not been tested at senior level against an opponent of Kvaratskhelia's quality
- Mbeumo has scored twice already in pre-season and represents United's best chance of breaking down a PSG defensive unit also missing both regular full-backs
- Rotation in the second half will open the game up, as neither manager is likely to field the same XI for 90 minutes, reducing the defensive cohesion of both sides in the final 30 minutes
- PSG's depth of fit bodies gives Enrique an edge late on, with Pacho, Mbaye and Zabarnyi having already completed 90 minutes against Mallorca three days earlier – the 3-0 defeat reflects squad inexperience at that point, but the match minutes add to a fitness advantage United's key players simply cannot match this week
Ellis has been working as a freelance sports writer since graduating from University in 2023. He is especially passionate about football, with a particular love for Manchester United.