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Manchester United vs. Southampton: 4 Keys to Saints’ Game Friday

By Khaled Abdallah

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 23: Charlie Austin of Southampton and Daley Blind of Manchester United compete for the ball during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Southampton at Old Trafford on January 23, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 23: Charlie Austin of Southampton and Daley Blind of Manchester United compete for the ball during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Southampton at Old Trafford on January 23, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) /
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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 23: Wayne Rooney of Manchester United in action with Virgil van Dijk of Southampton during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Jose Fonte at Old Trafford on January 23, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 23: Wayne Rooney of Manchester United in action with Virgil van Dijk of Southampton during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Jose Fonte at Old Trafford on January 23, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images) /

2. Lock Down the Defence

Southampton’s defence looked shaky last game and conceded a poor goal to Etienne Capoue in the 1-1 draw vs. Watford. With Ryan Bertrand out and Jose Fonte still uncertain, it will be essential for depth players Maya Yoshida and Matt Targett to step up. Defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu will also be called upon to be a bigger presence for Saints than he was last time out, likely being assigned to lock up the ever-dangerous Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the best of his ability.

Faced with the attacking quartet of Rooney, Ibrahimovic, Martial and Mata, plus available substitutes Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay, Saints’ defensive third are going to have their work cut out for them. Expect Fraser Forster to be tested early and often, and defence to become a team effort; parking the bus is hardly part of Claude Puel’s philosophy, but pragmatism may take precedent if the team is unable to get the engine running.

Assuming the team will want to try to play the fluid, pressing, possession-based attack it’s trained to, expect the defence to prioritize one or two of the attacking group to lock down. For my money, I’d put Van Dijk on Zlatan: the former proved his mettle against Diego Costa in his last time out vs a Mourinho team, and seems the logical choice to face off against the King of Sweden.

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