Manchester United welcome Southampton to Old Trafford today looking to bag another three points with a depleted squad. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has transformed the mood and along with that United’s fortunes and what they will need now is a strong finish to the season to clinch a top 4 spot.
The road will not be an easy one to take but with a number of stars expected to return shortly, the Red Devils will be quietly confident of achieving their modified targets at the end of this season. But before that, Ole has to plot a win against struggling Southampton and he will have to do so with a relatively young looking squad.
MANCHESTER UNITED TEAM NEWS
Marcus Rashford is fit to feature and might start. Jesse Lingard (hamstring), Juan Mata (hamstring), Ander Herrera (hamstring), Matteo Darmian (knock) and Anthony Martial are major doubts while Antonio Valencia is also unlikely to feature along with Matic who is out.
PREDICTED MANCHESTER UNITED LINEUP VS BOURNEMOUTH (4-3-3)
DEFENCE
David de Gea will start in goal. The Spaniard will be keen to keep a clean sheet having failed to do so against Crystal Palace.
Ashley Young might be rested after recent exertions which will see Diogo Dalot start in his favoured right-back position. Luke Shaw has been excellent and despite his workload is likely to start at left back.
Victor Lindelof could be handed a breather with the UCL game coming up, even though Ole noted that the fixture against PSG will not be affecting his thought process for this game.
Hence, we might see Eric Bailly start alongside the more experienced Chris Smalling in central defence.
MIDFIELD
Paul Pogba will start in one of the midfield slots and will be the chief creator while Scott McTominay is also a secure starter. There might be a toss-up between Fred and Andreas Pereira. The former did not look entirely convincing in the last game but will hope for another opportunity today.
ATTACK
The potential return of Marcus Rashford might result in Alexis Sanchez shifting over to the right wing while Romelu Lukaku’s brace might earn him another start through the middle which should mean a start for Rashford on the left.
