Football
Rob Dawson, Correspondent 7y

Man United manager Jose Mourinho to rotate less vs. Man City

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will step up his preparations for the new season when his team line up against Manchester City in Houston on Thursday.

The United manager played different XIs in both halves against LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake in the first two games of their US tour. But he has revealed he will change tact against Pep Guardiola's City when they meet at the 72,000-capacity NRG Stadium on Thursday.

"I will try to go for 60 minutes and 30 minutes and some players can play 60 minutes against Manchester City and the play 30 against Real Madrid," he told reporters.

"I try to give minutes to everyone. It's an important thing. The work we do in training, to go to matches, to try to do the things we do in training. It's important for everybody to compete so we try to do that."

After two games against MLS opposition, United face City, Real Madrid and Barcelona in their final three games in the United States.

The three clashes will offer tests more comparable to what they will face in the Premier League and the Champions League next season, but Mourinho insists he is only interested in the performance of his players, and not the results. 

"The level of Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona is higher -- Champions League level. It's a new competition for us. It is good for us," he added.

"Maybe the other teams have the same philosophy as us, maybe not. I know Manchester City is our city rival, Real Madrid European champion but it's not so important for us to play for a result."

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