Rosenborg vs Manchester United: Everything You Need to Know About the Pre-Season Friendly in Trondheim (Image collected)

Rosenborg vs Manchester United: Everything You Need to Know About the Pre-Season Friendly in Trondheim

Manchester United's summer tour rolls on with a trip to Norway, where Michael Carrick's side face Rosenborg BK at the historic Lerkendal Stadion. It's the second fixture of United's 2026/27 pre-season programme, and it arrives with the club still searching for its first win of the summer after a disappointing start against Wrexham. Below is a complete breakdown of the fixture — kickoff time, how to watch, team news, head-to-head history, and the bigger picture surrounding both clubs heading into the new campaign.

The Build-Up: United Looking to Bounce Back

Pre-season is rarely about results, but Manchester United will still be desperate to put in a better shopping-window showing than they managed in their tour opener. The Red Devils were beaten 1-0 by Wrexham in Helsinki, a game in which Carrick rotated heavily, fielding two completely different starting elevens across the two halves as he tried to get minutes into as many bodies as possible. United struggled to find any fluency going forward and were ultimately undone by a well-taken goal, leaving the manager with plenty to think about before the next audition.

That next audition comes against a Rosenborg side that, on paper, should have a considerable advantage in terms of sharpness. While United are still assembling bodies and layering on fitness work following a long post-season break, Rosenborg have already played more than a dozen matches in their domestic Eliteserien campaign this year. That head start in match rhythm and conditioning is significant this early in the summer, even if the Norwegian club currently sits in a fairly modest mid-table position domestically.

For Carrick, the emphasis in Trondheim will not be on the scoreline but on cohesion — getting his squad, old and new, to start understanding each other's movement, pressing triggers, and buildup patterns ahead of the real business of the Premier League season. A win would be a welcome confidence boost, but the underlying priorities of fitness-building and squad bonding will take precedence over anything approaching genuine result-based pressure.

Kickoff Time and Venue

The match is being played on Friday, July 24 at Lerkendal Stadion, Rosenborg's atmospheric home ground in Trondheim, Norway — a venue with genuine pedigree in Scandinavian football and one that has hosted top European sides before. It marks the first time these two clubs have met since a previous pre-season encounter at the very same stadium.

How to Watch: TV Channel and Streaming

Coverage details vary by territory, and fans should check their regional broadcaster listings and official club channels closer to kickoff, as pre-season friendly rights are often split between a club's in-house channel and third-party broadcasters or streaming platforms. In some markets, viewers have historically been able to access Manchester United's pre-season friendlies through the club's own subscription channel, MUTV, while other regions rely on general sports broadcasters or streaming bundles that carry a wide slate of club friendlies and international matches. Fans in the United States, for example, have multiple options through general sports-streaming bundles that carry a broad range of soccer content, including various ESPN-family channels alongside other major sports networks. As always with pre-season fixtures, availability can differ noticeably between the UK, the US, Norway, and other markets, so it's worth checking local listings in the day or two before kickoff for the most accurate channel information in your specific region.

The Head-to-Head History

This is a fixture with very little shared history. Manchester United and Rosenborg have met only once before in recorded history, and — fittingly — that meeting also took place at Lerkendal Stadion, during a previous summer pre-season tour. On that occasion, Rosenborg came away with a narrow 1-0 win, courtesy of a late winning goal, despite United's goalkeeper producing several notable saves to keep the scoreline as close as it was. That result means the head-to-head record currently favors Rosenborg outright: one win for the Norwegian club, zero for United, and no draws on the board. United will have half an eye on setting the record straight this time out, even if pre-season bragging rights carry limited long-term significance.

Team News: Who's Missing for United

United's squad for this trip to Norway is notably thin on senior, headline names. A large contingent of the group that represented their countries at the recent World Cup has been given extended rest and has not yet rejoined full training with the club, meaning several first-choice players are unavailable for selection in Trondheim. That absentee list is considerable and includes a number of key first-team figures, alongside a couple of high-profile summer arrivals who are still working their way into full training. The upshot is that Carrick is once again likely to lean on a squad blending fringe first-teamers, academy prospects, and those players who didn't feature in the World Cup, much as he did against Wrexham.

Adding to the selection puzzle is the ongoing transfer business dominating the headlines around Old Trafford. United have been strongly linked with a move for a well-known Real Madrid midfielder as they continue to reshape their engine room, and there remains uncertainty hanging over the futures of a handful of current first-team players, with reports suggesting at least one attacking option has signaled a desire to explore a move away from the club this summer. None of that off-field noise directly affects the matchday squad in Trondheim, but it forms part of the broader context of a transitional summer at United, with the club still working through incomings, outgoings, and squad-balance questions even as pre-season matches continue.

On the plus side for United fans, the club's transfer business has already delivered some fresh faces into the fold, with a new midfield signing having made an early first-team debut during the Wrexham defeat — a rare bright spot on an otherwise underwhelming night in Helsinki. Expect Carrick to continue blooding new arrivals and giving extended run-outs to fringe players as the priority remains conditioning and cohesion rather than picking a strongest possible XI.

Team News: Rosenborg's Situation

Specific lineup details for Rosenborg have been harder to pin down ahead of kickoff, with the Norwegian club yet to confirm their starting approach for the friendly. That's not unusual for a mid-season domestic side using a high-profile friendly as a mid-campaign test; Rosenborg will likely rotate to some degree given their congested Eliteserien schedule, but they are expected to field a squad capable of testing United's less experienced group, given their considerable advantage in match sharpness at this point in the year.

The Broader Picture: Two Clubs, Two Different Trajectories

It's worth zooming out to appreciate just how different the current situations are for these two clubs. Manchester United are deep into pre-season, essentially still building toward peak fitness and cohesion, with a Premier League campaign that won't start for a few more weeks. The club is also navigating a genuinely eventful transfer window, with incoming and outgoing business continuing to develop, uncertainty over a handful of squad players, and reported interest in reinforcing the midfield with elite additions.

Rosenborg, by contrast, are firmly mid-season. As one of the most storied clubs in Norwegian football history — with a long list of past domestic titles to their name — Rosenborg have endured a tougher stretch of form in recent years and have not lifted the Eliteserien title since 2018. They currently find themselves in a fairly middling league position, but friendlies against high-profile European visitors like Manchester United represent exactly the kind of test that can offer clarity on where the squad stands and provide a useful benchmark against continental opposition.

For neutral fans, that contrast — a full-strength, match-sharp domestic side hosting a rotated, still-assembling Premier League giant — is part of what makes early pre-season friendlies like this one so unpredictable. Results can skew in surprising directions, understrength "big" clubs can be caught out by fitter opposition, and fringe players get a rare opportunity to make a genuine impression on their manager before the competitive season begins in earnest.

What to Watch For

A few storylines are worth tracking as the match unfolds. First, keep an eye on how United's newer faces integrate alongside the more experienced squad members who have remained with the group. Early pre-season minutes are often the clearest window fans get into how a summer signing might fit before the pressure of competitive fixtures kicks in. Second, watch how Carrick manages his substitutions — given the heavy rotation seen against Wrexham, it would be no surprise to see a similarly fluid approach in Trondheim, with two very different-looking United sides potentially appearing across the two halves once again. Finally, for Rosenborg, this fixture offers a chance to gauge their own form against a proper European yardstick in the middle of their domestic season, something that rarely comes around outside of continental competition.

Final Word

Ultimately, precise final results in matches like this one tend to matter less than the broader trends they reveal: fitness levels, squad depth, early combinations between new signings and existing personnel, and glimpses of a manager's evolving thinking heading into a new campaign. Manchester United will want to avoid a second successive defeat and continue building positive momentum after the Wrexham setback, while Rosenborg will relish the opportunity to test themselves against one of the most recognizable names in world football. Either way, fans on both sides should get a useful early look at how their respective squads are shaping up for the months ahead.

Rosenborg vs Manchester United: FAQs

1. When and where is Rosenborg vs Manchester United being played? The match is on Friday, July 24, at Lerkendal Stadion in Trondheim, Norway.

2. What competition is this match part of? It's a pre-season friendly, the second fixture of Manchester United's 2026/27 summer tour.

3. Have Rosenborg and Manchester United met before? Yes, just once — a previous pre-season friendly at the same venue, which Rosenborg won 1-0.

4. Which key United players are missing for this game? Several first-team regulars who featured at the World Cup are still on extended rest and unavailable, so Carrick is fielding a squad mixing fringe players, academy prospects, and new signings.

5. Where can fans watch the match? Availability varies by country — options typically include the club's own channel (MUTV) and regional sports broadcasters/streaming bundles, so it's best to check local listings closer to kickoff.