In the upcoming Premier League match, Southampton will face Erik Ten Hag's Manchester United in an away fixture at the St. Mary's Stadium this week. After three defeats from their first three league games while conceding five goals, the focus will be on improving the defensive performance in the match. However, another aspect that the Saints should work on is their attack and their ability to create a lot of huge chances inside the box.
In the first match against Newcastle United, Russell Martin's side should have taken the win, however, their finishing and decision making inside the final third was underwhelming. Against ten Newcastle players, after Schar's early red card in the first half, Southampton couldn't find the back of the net despite dominating the ball possession and passing stats throughout the match. And in the second game against Nottingham Forest, Southampton again controlled the ball possession, but couldn't create much chances going forward, thus, some changes are needed to be made in the starting lineup.
Why Mateus Fernandes should start for Southampton against Manchester United
While young striker Cameron Archer looks highly likely to start as the centre forward for the Saints, new signing Mateus Fernandes should also be given his first start in the Premier League since his £15 million move from Sporting in this summer transfer window. The young creative playmaker has blistering pace and makes several advancing runs near the edge of the box. Also, Manchester United aren't a great team while defending huge chances from the build up play, which was evident as they conceded three goals against Liverpool in the Premier League.
Further, Fernandes uses his great recovery pace t help the team while defending and has the ability to win ball possession as well. In the first three league matches, the midfield trio of Flynn Downes, Will Smallbone and Joe Aribo haven't contributed much in creating chances, therefore, Fernandes should be given a start in the massive fixture against Manchester United.