Manchester United vs Southampton Preview


Key Details :

Teams : Manchester vs Southampton
Date : 13th July 2020
Time : 8:00pm BST
Stadium: Old Trafford
Managers: Ralph Hasenhüttl and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Referee: Chris Kavanagh


Buildup
There is a weird sense of invincibility amongst Manchester United fans and full credit to Ole and his team for creating that aura out of nowhere.  United will be looking to make it five Premier League wins in a row when they welcome Southampton to Old Trafford on Monday night. The Red Devils have been in excellent form since the league’s restart last month and currently sit fifth in the table, while Southampton occupy 12th, having also impressed since returning to the field.
United were held for a draw by Tottenham Hotspur on their return to the field on June 19, but they have won their four Premier League games since, overcoming Sheffield United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Bournemouth and Aston Villa, winning by a three-goal margin on each occasion. The Red Devils have been clinical in their performance led by their talisman, Bruno Fernandes.

Team News
Manchester United
There are only 2 injuries which are bothering United and they are of Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe but otherwise united have a barrage of options to choose from. Solskjaer has named an unchanged side in each of the team’s last four Premier League matches, and it would not be a surprise to see the same team sent onto the field once again. 

Mason Greenwood’s brilliant form has seen the 18-year-old nail down a spot in the front three alongside Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, while Nemanja Matic has been in excellent form in the middle of the park and much needed balance in that midfield.

Scott McTominay and Fred could come into Solskjaer’s plans when it comes to potential change to prevent from fatigue or injuries, but the United manager has suggested that he will not alter a winning side. Victor Lindelof was a slight doubt against Villa last time out due to a back injury, but the defender overcame the issue to start at Villa Park and is likely to keep his spot alongside Harry Maguire.

Southampton
As for Southampton, Sofiane Boufal, Yan Valery, Nathan Tella and Moussa Djenepo remain injured, while Jannik Vestergaard is also unlikely to be fit as he battles a muscular problem.Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg returned from injury against Everton and could be starting ahead of Oriol Romeu in the middle of the park, while Shane Long could replace Che Adams to start alongside Danny Ings. Nathan Redmond and Stuart Armstrong should keep their spots in the wide positions, though, with James Ward-Prowse again captaining the side.

Form Guide

Man United Premier League form: DWWWW

Man United form (all competitions): WWWWW

Southampton Premier League form: WLWWD

Interesting Facts:

  • Manchester United have not lost to Southampton since 2016 in which a Charlie Austin winner saw Southampton beat Louis Van Gaal’s United
  • Manchester United drew earlier at St Mary’s, the only time they have failed to beat Southampton in both fixtures of a Premier League was in the 2013/14 season under David Moyes
  • Marcus Rashford has yet to score against Southampton
  • Neither Manchester United nor Southampton have kept a clean sheet in their last three matches against eachother
  • David de Gea is set to make his 400th United appearance against Southampton, keeping 141 clean sheets during that time

Predicted Lineup: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, Matic, Pogba, Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford, Martial
Predicted Score

United will come all guns blazing for this game knowing they have the best chance to move to third position and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wouldn’t want to risk that way although Southampton have shown that they are motivated to play hard as witnessed in their 1-0 win over Manchester City last weekend. With so many of Manchester United’s attacking players in form, they have to be favoured to outscore the Saints, but do not rule out Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men troubling De Gea’s goal at some stage.

Predicted Score: 3-1 to United

Author: TUD Author