After suffering an embarrassing defeat against Crystal Palace last week in the Premier League, Manchester United face yet another banana peel in the form of Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium on Saturday.
Manchester United’s performance levels have dropped rapidly since the highs of the 4-0 win over Chelsea in the first game of the season.
To make matters worse, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will not have a few key players who have been ruled out of the trip to Southampton due to injury. United drew 2-2 against Southampton in the last time the two sides met at St. Mary’s Stadium.
Let’s take a look at the possible Manchester United lineup against Southampton:
Manchester United Team News
Luke Shaw has been ruled out for over a month due to an injury and will not feature. Anthony Martial is also a doubt, and might not make the Manchester United lineup.
Predicted Manchester United Lineup vs Southampton
Goalkeeper
David de Gea should keep his place in the Manchester United XI against Southampton, despite his poor error that led to the winning goal against Crystal Palace.
Defence
There have been reports that 18-year-old United full-back Brandon Williams, who has been impressive for the club’s youth team, could replace Shaw for the game against Southampton, but it will be surprising if Solskjaer throws in a youngster into a Premier League game.
He could possibly make the bench, with Ashley Young starting at left-back, joining Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, and Harry Maguire in the back four.
Midfield
Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay are set to start in midfield, but there are question marks over Jesse Lingard’s place in the Manchester United lineup, with fans and pundits criticising his recent form.
We could possibly see Juan Mata replace the Englishman in the team against Southampton, while Andreas Pereira is another option for the Manchester United manager.
Attack
Another big loss for Manchester United is Anthony Martial, who is also set to be ruled out for the game against Southampton due to injury.
Martial, who has scored twice this season, could probably be replaced by 17-year-old Mason Greenwood as the main striker for the team, with Marcus Rashford on the left side of attack, and Daniel James – who has also scored twice this season – on the right.
