Southampton welcome Manchester United to St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday in their first home game of the new Premier League season.
The Saints were beaten 3-1 by Everton at Goodison Park in the season opener last weekend, despite taking the lead through new signing Adam Armstrong. Lack of discipline and poor organisation at the back saw Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side concede three second-half goals to the Toffees.
Next at St Mary’s Stadium in front of the returning home fans, Southampton will aim to stun Manchester United and register their first points of the new campaign.
Manchester United, on the other hand, thrashed traditional rivals Leeds United 5-1 at Old Trafford to send a statement across the division. Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba starred for the Red Devils, with the former scoring a hat-trick and the latter supplying no fewer than four assists last weekend.
Buoyed by the big win over Leeds United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will head into Sunday’s contest as overwhelming favourites as they look to make it two wins on the bounce.
Southampton vs Manchester United—Team News
Southampton
Southampton will continue to be without Will Smallbone, who is sidelined with a long-term knee injury. Provided that there are no fresh knocks picked up in the coming days, Ralph Hasenhuttl will have the same squad available to select for the upcoming game.
Alex McCarthy will be hoping to do well this weekend after conceding three goals in the last game. Debutant Tino Livramento did an admirable job at right-back against Everton, which will see him get rewarded with another start.
Mohammed Salisu and Jack Stephens weren’t great as a pair in central defence, so Hasenhuttl could drop the former for the experienced Jan Bednarek on Sunday. Left-back Romain Perraud had a tough debut outing, especially after the interval but Hasenhuttl is likely to stick with the Frenchman.
Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse do their jobs efficiently in the middle of the park and will start on Sunday. Moussa Djenepo, a tricky wide-man, will keep his place on the left flank with Stuart Armstrong likely to come into Hasenhuttl’s starting XI for Theo Walcott.
Adam Armstrong bagged a goal on his Saints debut and will look to get himself on the scoresheet again. He’ll start up top with Che Adams.
Manchester United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is set to remain without Marcus Rashford (shoulder) and Alex Telles (ankle) through injury, while Dean Henderson continues to recover from Covid-19.
Jesse Lingard is back in training after testing negative for Covid-19 and was one of Manchester United’s scorers in the behind-closed-doors 3-1 friendly win over Burnley at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
New signing Raphael Varane wasn’t involved in the friendly but having started training with his new teammates, the Frenchman is set to be a part of the Reds’ travelling squad. Edinson Cavani trained on Wednesday and could start on the bench at St Mary’s Stadium.
David de Gea should be in goal for United, with the back four of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw set to retain their places in the starting XI.
Nemanja Matic and Donny van de Beek started the practice game against Burnley and played well, so Solskjaer could go with them in midfield ahead of the tried and tested partnership of Fred and Scott McTominay. Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes were excellent and combined superbly in the final third against Leeds that’ll certainly see them start against Southampton.
Mason Greenwood led United’s attack very well and scored a top goal in the opening game of the season, but he could be shifted onto the right if Solskjaer gets tempted to hand Anthony Martial a start in the no.9 role.
Southampton vs Manchester United—Predicted Lineups
Southampton Predicted Lineup (4-4-2): Alex McCarthy; Tino Livramento, Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek, Romain Perraud; James Ward-Prowse, Oriol Romeu, Stuart Armstrong, Moussa Djenepo; Adam Armstrong, Che Adams.
Manchester United Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): David de Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; Nemanja Matic, Donny van de Beek; Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood; Anthony Martial.
Southampton vs Manchester United— Key Players
Southampton—Stuart Armstrong
Stuart Armstrong has a decent personal record against Manchester United—having scored two goals in six games. He started on the bench against Everton but is likely to be in Hasenhuttl’s starting XI, with the Scotsman’s energy, pressing and box-to-box runs making him a crucial component in the Saints midfield.
Manchester United—Bruno Fernandes
A hat-trick in the club’s first game of the season was the stuff of dreams for Bruno Fernandes. Considering how he’s started the new campaign, the Portuguese would be the visitors’ most dangerous player at the sea coast on Sunday.
Prediction: Southampton 1-3 Manchester United