07/08/2017 07:51, Report by James Tuck

Manchester United are flying out to Skopje, Macedonia this morning (Monday) ahead of the first competitive match of 2017/18, the UEFA Super Cup clash with Real Madrid.

The annual clash between the winners of the Europa League and Champions League pits Jose Mourinho’s men against Zinedine Zidane’s side at the 33,460-capacity Philip II Arena. The United manager will hold a press conference upon arrival in Macedonia, before his squad train on the pitch.

Nemanja Matic is in contention to be involved in Tuesday’s showpiece after impressing in his first outing of pre-season, a 45-minute appearance in last week’s friendly win over Sampdoria in Dublin, while fellow summer signings Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku could also make their competitive debuts.

Defensive duo Eric Bailly and Phil Jones are suspended but Mourinho otherwise has no absences to overcome, besides the long-term injured players Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw and Ashley Young.

Zidane could be sweating on the fitness of Wales international Gareth Bale, who has been struggling with an ankle injury during pre-season, but former United star Cristiano Ronaldo has been named in Real Madrid's squad. He had been given added time off after his exploits with Portugal in the Confederations Cup.

Mourinho said after the game against Sampdoria: "Pre-season was good. I’m never tired to repeat how well organised it was. Everybody played, we tried many different things and didn’t care about the results – we cared about our evolution. On top of it, we had small injuries but not big ones so everybody is ready. Now it's the serious stuff with the Super Cup and the first Premier League match."

Tuesday's match kicks off at 19:45 BST. Subscribers of MUTV on Sky or Virgin Media, the club's MUTV app or online at mutv.com will be able to watch build-up from 18:45 BST in Matchday Live and listen to radio commentary of the game before watching it in full from midnight. You can also keep up with all the action as it happens via ManUtd.com's live match blog and by following our official Twitter account @ManUtd.

Find more news and features in our special Super Cup section.