Louis van Gaal will be devastated as his team started their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 loss away to PSV. The team was not its best in the match as PSV took all three points from the game. This weekend, United will travel to play Southampton who has not started their season too badly.
Ronal Koeman’s side was held for a 0-0 draw against West Bromwich Albion away from home and will want to bounce back and give Manchester United a scare. Both teams have not lived up to their potential and this a great chance for them to get a much-needed victory in the early days of the season. In this article, you can find the Preview of the game along with the Predictions.
The Southampton vs Manchester United game will be played on Sunday the 20th of September at the St Mary’s in Southampton. The game will kick-off at 4:00 pm BST (8:30 pm IST).
Team News
Southampton does not have too many players missing from the starting XI. Foster, Gardos and Bertrand have both suffered injuries to their knee and will not be available for selection on Sunday. Classie who suffered an ankle injury will also miss the clash.
Manchester United have a major injury problem with Luke Shaw expected to be out for at least 8 months. It is expected that Ashley Young will take his place at the wing back position. Jones has however recovered from an injury and a decision will be taken about his match fitness before the game.
United’s last match was a 3-1 victory over arch rivals Liverpool in a game where the visitors lacked any kind of bite. Debutant Anthony Marshall capped off the victory with a sublime solo effort as United won their 3rd match of the season. But they did show their weaknesses at the back when Liverpool stretched them. Tadic and Pelle are in good form and will look to exploit these weaknesses of United’s back four.
Even in the attack, Manchester United did not look convincing even though they scored 3 goals. Fellaini, as the lone striker did not give them enough in attack and Memphis Depay, looked poor for much of the first half. They also failed to score more than once against PSV in the midweek Champions League fixture and Louis van Gaal is in desperate need of goals scorers.
Fonte and Van Djik had a solid performance against WBA last week and Koeman will want his centre-half pairing to contain the threat that United pose. However, with Rooney will be back in contention for a starting place and may provide the much-needed spark in front of goal. It will be an exciting match as both teams are still trying to settle into the new season.
Expected Line-ups
Southampton: Stekelenburg, Soares, Fonte, Van Djik, Targett, S Davis, Wanyama, Mane, Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Pelle.
Manchester United: David de Gea, Young, Blind, Smalling, Darmian, Carrick, Schweinsteiger, Depay, Herrera, Mata, Rooney.
Odds:
Southampton: @3.30
Draw: @3.20
Manchester United: @2.45
Predictions:
St Mary’s is not an easy place to travel to and Van Gaal’s men will understand that when they face Southampton on Sunday. The home team will want to put the visitors under pressure from the start. United will want all three points from this game, but it is not going to be easy.
Our Prediction: Southampton 2-2 Manchester United