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It has been just 10 days since the World Cup Final but it already feels like ages. With at least 15 days left for the regular football season to start, fans really need some footballing action to survive and the International Champions Cup can be their perfect dose.
Despite being just a preseason tournament, International Champions Cup's popularity is unmatched with full house stadiums and global television viewership, ICC has really changed the course of the preseason.
It gives a chance for the coaches to experiment with their squads and a chance for young players to impress their respective fans and manager without much pressure, It also gives a chance for the fans of non-European counties like USA, Singapore, China and Australia to catch a glimpse of their favourite teams and players. ICC has a thing for everyone.
Let us now look at the top 5 fixtures in this edition of the ICC.
#5 FC Barcelona VS AS Roma
Date - 31 July 2018
Time(Local) - 9:05 pm
Stadium - AT&T Stadium, Arlington
It will absolutely be a fixture to watch out for...Barcelona fans won't forget Roma in a hurry, after all they were the one who made a historic comeback and knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League last season.
Regardless of it just being a preseason tournament, Barcelona would be looking for a sense of relief after beating Roma but you can't just write off Roma, can you? If they did it on the biggest stage, the UCL, they can certainly repeat their heroics in the ICC.
Moreover, they also have something to take revenge of their own after Barcelona hijacked the deal of the player Malcom, from the hands of Roma at the 11th hour.
#4 Real Madrid VS Manchester United
Date - 31 July 2018
Time(Local) - 8:05 pm
Stadium - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
Arguably two of the best clubs in the history go head to head with each other once again. Games between these sides, which enjoy the biggest fan base worldwide have never disappointed in the past, be it United winning on penalties in the last edition of the ICC or Real edging past them by 2-1 in the last UEFA Super Cup.
A record number of 109,000 fans turned out to watch these two sides play in Michigan in 2016. This shows that this fixture speaks for itself.
#3 Bayern Munich VS Manchester City
Date - 28 July 2018
Time - 7:05 pm
Stadium - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
It would be interesting to see the City manager, Pep Guardiola facing his former side Bayern Munich.
Arguably among the top 5 teams of Europe right now, City and Bayern have been showing stand out performances over the last few seasons.
They haven't faced each other on many occasions but when they did it was not at all disappointing. These two sides last faced each other competitively in the 2014-15 edition of the Champions League in which both sides won at their home by just the margin of 1 goal but Bayern went through on away goals.
#2 Real Madrid VS Juventus
Date - 4 August 2018
Time(Local) - 6:05 pm
Stadium - FedEx Field, Landover
Two of the best European clubs in the last 5 years go head to head with each other once again. These two have faced each other 7 times in UCL over the course of last 5 seasons which include one time in final, semi-final, quarter-final and group stage each with Juventus being the only team to knock out Real Madrid from the Champions League in these 5 seasons as they did it back in 2015 in the semifinal.
But since then the Los Blancos have won all three UCL titles knocking Juventus out twice in the process which includes the 2017 final and the quarter-final of the last edition of the Champions League.
It is quite sure the Cristiano Ronaldo will not feature in this match but his move to Juventus will surely add fuel to the fire in this one.
It is certainly a match you won't want to miss.
#1 Manchester United VS Liverpool
Date - 28 July 2018
Time(Local) - 5:05 pm
Stadium - Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor
A fixture that needs no introduction...
Manchester United vs Liverpool, popularly known as the North West Derby, is the most popular rivalry in English Football and certainly one of the best if not the best in world football. It's always special when United face Liverpool
Two of the most successful clubs in English footballing history always try to claim supremacy over each other. The Red Devils have an edge in League titles with 20 titles compared to Liverpool's 18 but the Reds have an upper hand in Europe as they have been crowned European Champions 5 times compared to United's 3.
We expect it to be a close encounter but fans of both sides will be hoping to completely outclass their rivals.
So sit back, grab a tub of popcorn and enjoy these absolutely wonderful fixtures to get yourself prepared for the regular season.
