Man United vs. Southampton: Premier League – Preview and Predictions

The first time the sides met this season each had a different manager in charge. Now, they are like new teams and should provide for a good tomorrow.

Both teams are coming off victories during the midweek matches. United beat Palace 1-3 and the Saints topped Fulham 2-0.

For United, this will be the second match of three that will be played within a weeks’ time and health issues have been popping up left and right for them. With that said, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won’t be limited in his choices for this match.

Let us take a look how both teams can win

Why United Will Win.

United, simply, are the side with more talent and more depth. For this match though, it will come down to how they feel about their chances in the Champions League match on Wednesday. They are going into Paris down 2-0 and if they do not get the result will find themselves out of the CL.

Ole Gunnar will have choices to make. Who does he sit and rest for that match and who does he play in the league where they are fighting for a place in the top 4. I believe, they have been assessing their situation for the past few days and will find a healthy balance and will field a strong starting XI for Saturday in a match that they will see as one they can win relatively easily. The last thing they will want is to drop points at home against a side that is currently sitting 17th on the table.

The key man for United may very well be Romelu Lukaku. Rashford, is fit or very close to being fit, and I would think they are saving the explosive youngster for Paris. If that is the case, the Belgian will have another chance to prove to the new manager that he deserves to be considered to be on the team sheet week-in and week-out.

At the end of the day, even if United do not field their strongest eleven, they will have more than enough talent on the pitch to compete and win on Saturday.

Why Southampton Will Win.

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The Saints, will go into Old Trafford knowing they will have to play a near perfect game if they expect to come away with a result. Getting out to an early lead will be key to getting points here. The longer they let United control and grow into the game the worst the Saints chance at winning or getting a draw will be.

They will have to come out of the gates and punch the home team in the mouth. If United are overlooking the Saints a little bit and are more focused on how they will come back against PSG this will open the door for the Saints to stun the Premier League giants.

It will just be a matter of Southampton being able to convert their chances. Against Arsenal, they had more than a few big chances to score but squandered them. This has been an issue plaguing the Saints for some time now and if they want to stay up and see Premier League football next season they are going to have to improve their conversion rate.

Predicted Line-ups

Manchester United: 4-2-3-1

Goalkeeper: David De Gea

Defenders: Luke Shaw, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Ashley Young

Midfielders: Fred, Scott McTominay

Attacking Midfielders: Alexis Sanchez, Juan Mata, Ander Herrera

Forwards: Romelu Lukaku

Southampton: 3-4-2-1

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn

Defenders: Jan Bednarek, Maya Yoshida, Jannik Vestergaard

Midfielders: Yan Valery, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oriel Romeu, Ryan Bertrand

Attacking Midfielders: Nathan Redmond, James Ward-Prowse

Forwards: Charlie Austin

Predicted Score

Manchester United 1 – 1 Southampton