Man United take on Southampton at the St Mary’s Stadium in gameweek four of the Premier League and they go into this game on the back of a fantastic win against Liverpool.
Everyone expected Man United to suffer a defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals but instead, the Red Devils came out all guns blazing and produced one of their best performances in a long long time.
Hopefully, this 2-1 win has given much-needed wind to their sails and they will be looking to back it up with another three points against the Saints.
Manchester United had an xG of 1.79 and created four big chances against a team like Liverpool but on Saturday, they will need to play a totally different style of football. Against Klopp’s men, they played mostly on the counter but at the St Mary’s Stadium, it’s them who will have the ball so they will need to find a way to dismantle Hasenhuttl’s side.
Southampton played a midweek EFL Cup tie against Cambridge United and in that game, several of the first-team regulars played the full 90 minutes. This unwanted fixture means the home side will have one less day to rest and this could be a key factor if Man United maintain the same intensity as they did against Liverpool.
Surprisingly, Man United haven’t been able to beat Southampton in their last two meetings but if they can replicate their form from Monday then Ten Hag’s side should be picking up an easy win.
Manchester United team news against Southampton:
Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane were outstanding on Monday and right now, there’s no way Harry Maguire is coming back into the first XI.
Unless either of these two defenders sees a major dip in form, Erik ten Hag is not going to alter his central defensive pairing.
The same can be said about Malacia who kept Mo Salah at bay throughout the match. He has a much better presence than Luke Shaw, in both attack and defence so he too will hold onto his place in the first XI.
Casemiro was unveiled to the Old Trafford crowd on Monday and Erik ten Hag will waste no time in bringing him into the side. It will be a bit harsh on Scott McTominay who had a great game against Liverpool but there’s very little chance Casemiro will be on the bench on Saturday, more so cause this one’s an away tie.
Casemiro received a hero's welcome at Old Trafford 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/JIaDorvWRT
— GOAL (@goal) August 22, 2022
Erik ten Hag was not hesitant in dropping to the bench and with Anthony Martial back to full fitness, we think the Man United manager will keep CR7 on the bench once again.
Man United managed to play a much more aggressive game without Ronaldo in the side and we don’t think the manager will be willing to lose this advantage.
Man United predicted line up vs Southampton:
Predicted Starting Line up(4-2-3-1): De Gea; Malacia, Dalot, Varane, Martinez; Casemiro, Eriksen; Bruno Fernandes, Rashford, Sancho, Martial.
