Southampton vs Manchester United: Where the game will be won and lost

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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MARCH 02: Jannik Vestergaard of Southampton holds off Marcus Rashford of Manchester United during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Southampton FC at Old Trafford on March 02, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /

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.