Last year, Southampton vs Manchester United proved to be a great point in the season for United to flex their superiority. Southampton vs Manchester United will be the second match for the Red Devils in the new season following their 5-1 win over Leeds United on Matchday 1.
Match Facts:
Teams: Southhampton and Manchester United
Date: Saturday 22nd August
KO time: 2:00 pm (BST)
Competition: Premier League
Venue: St Mary’s Stadium
Managers: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralph Hasenhüttl
Referee: Craig Pawson
Spotlight: Manchester United firing on all cylinders
The Red Devils look to continue their red hot start to the season after last weekend’s 5-1 thumping of Leeds. Earlier last season, United fans had plenty to celebrate when playing against Southampton. In the meeting at St Mary’s Stadium, United overcame an early 2-0 deficit to comeback and win 3-2 behind the inspired play of Edinson Cavani. In the meeting against the Saints at Old Trafford, United routed them 9-0, equalling the Premier League record of goals scored in a single match. With key contributions coming from Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood, and Paul Pogba last time out, United look to continue their impressive away streak. One more result without defeat would equal the 27 unbeaten away record set by the Invincibles.
Recent News:
Prior to the match against Leeds, Raphael Varane recieved an introduction as a Manchester United player. Throughout the week he and new signing Jadon Sancho have trained with the team. Varane did not participate in the midweek friendly against Burnley. In addition, Sancho may come off the bench in the second half again. With Cavani returning to training early this week, Solskjaer needs to figure out who he wishes to play at striker between Greenwood and Anthony Martial.
Expect Fernandes and Pogba to both feature in the team. Likewise, the other midfield options become less clear as fans may want to see Solskjaer move away from McFred. This may see Nemanja Matic and/or Donny van de Beek feature in the starting lineup.
In addition, David De Gea is expected to start in goal as Dean Henderson is still out. However, the backline should also remain the same as Solskjaer is expected to stick with the one from last week.
Team News:
Do not expect Sancho or Varane to start this match. Because of how new Sancho is, Solskjaer will want to ease him into the league matches. Similarly, Varance needs to reach match fitness, so unless there is some incident, Lindelof will start. In addition to these cases, do not expect to see Lingard starting as he is still recovering from the effects of COVID. Likewise when Pogba was hit with the disease last year, starting a player so soon after their recovery would not help.
In addition, Hasenhüttl’s squad has some issues of their own that they have to deal with. Sam McQueen and Will Smallbone are both out due to knee injuries. With Danny Ings sold to Aston Villa, the Saints hope to get more goals from replacement Adam Armstrong. The Saints lost last weekend to Everton in a 3-1 comeback lose.
Interesting Facts:
- Manchester United did the double over Southampton since the 2012/13 season.
- Manchester United have not kept a clean sheet at St Mary’s since 2017 in a 1-0 win.
- Edinson Cavani has four goal contributions (3G, 1A) in 90 minutes (two 45 minute cameos) against Southampton.
- Similarly, Anthony Martial has an excellent record against Southampton with five goals and two assists in eight league games vs the Saints. He only has better records against Everton and West Ham.
- Southampton are on an 11 game winless run against Manchester United with their last win coming in 2016 courtesy of a Charlie Austin header at Old Trafford.
- Manchester United have not lost at Saint Mary’s since 2003 with their only losses since then (2) coming at Old Trafford, both under Louis van Gaal’s tenure.
Predicted Line ups:
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelöf, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; Pogba, Fernandes, James; Greenwood
Southampton Predicted Lineup (4-4-2): McCarthy; Livramento, Stephens, Bednarek, Perraud; Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Armstrong, Djenepo; Armstrong, Adams.
Predicted Score: 0-3 to United