Strain-engineering is used as a tool to alter electronic and magnetic properties like anisotropy energy. This study reports the different angledependent magnetoresistance properties of the strain-engineered La 0.67 Sr 0.33 MnO 3 (LSMO) thin films, grown on LaAlO 3 , compared to their bulk analogs. Upon increasing temperature, a symmetry change from fourfold [cos(4h)] to twofold [cos(2h)] is observed in the angledependent resistance measurements. This systematic study with increasing temperature allows us to define three distinct temperaturedependent phases. The fourfold symmetric signal originates from magnetocrystalline anisotropy, whereas the twofold symmetric signal is believed to be the conventional anisotropic magnetoresistance. Our observations show that strain-engineering creates the possibility to manipulate the anisotropy, which, for example, can ultimately lead to observations of noncollinear quasi-particles like skyrmions in single layer thin films of LSMO.