Rashford vs Saints’ defence
What could be quite concerning for Southampton is the performance of Marcus Rashford, who with main man Anthony Martial sidelined; could be utilised up-top for the Red Devils due to having a similar playing style and game to his French-companion.
What is even more concerning is that the pace of the backline in which Ralph Hasenhuttl has at his deposable as it lacks any explosiveness, and therefore it could be a long-day if players such as Jannik Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek get caught out of possession high-up the pitch and therefore become venerable of conceding from a counter-attack.
Kevin Danso will need to be favoured in the defensive line, and in particular if playing in the 4-2-2-2 might need to rely on his full-backs such as Yan Valery and potentially Ryan Bertrand, who has been tipped to return for this weekend’s game, as they will both have better recovery pace.
Playing a more narrow back-line would in turn help this, as this will prevent Rashford from exploiting to much space in-between Southampton’s players, but also make it harder for United to pick out their striker from wider positions and therefore try to cut out their threats.