Manchester United will travel to the St. Mary’s Stadium to clash heads with Southampton on Saturday afternoon. The visitors will be hoping to bounce back from their 2-1 home loss to Crystal Palace last weekend. The Red Devils have struggled to hit top gear in recent matches so they will be desperate to perform well and start winning games in the Premier League.
However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has some injury concerns ahead of this encounter with both Anthony Martial and Luke Shaw likely to miss out on Saturday. Man United are expected to set-up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with both Ashley Young and Andreas Pereira being named in Solskjaer’s starting XI.
4-2-3-1 Manchester United Predicted Lineup To Face Southampton
Defence
David De Gea is expected to start in between the sticks for the away side despite his error against the Eagles last weekend. Both Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire will operate at the heart of Solskjaer’s backline as they look to keep things tidy at the back versus the Saints in the South-coast of England.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka will assume his right-back duties once again while hoping to put in a strong defensive shift inside his own half. Luke Shaw will miss out on this clash due to injury so Ashley Young will fill in as the left-back for the Red Devils.
Man United need to put in a much-improved performance at the back if they are to ensure maximum points against Ralph Hasenhüttl’s men this weekend.
Midfield
Both Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay will lineup as the holding midfielders as they look to dictate play and orchestrate some decent openings for the front players. The dynamic duo will also be required to provide adequate cover to the Man United backline that has leaked in three goals in their previous two league matches.
Solskjaer might opt for the talented trio of Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira and Daniel James for this clash at the St. Mary’s Stadium. James has been in a rich vein of form for the Red Devils of late after scoring against Palace, so his confidence will be sky-high heading into this encounter.
Anthony Martial is a major doubt for this game and will be in a race against time to be fit for this weekend’s contest against the Saints. However, Juan Mata will be available on Solskjaer’s bench and might come on to make an impact during the game if required.
Attack
Marcus Rashford will spearhead the visiting side’s attack up top. He missed a penalty against Crystal Palace last weekend which was one of the many reasons why the Red Devils suffered an unlikely defeat at Old Trafford. However, the Southampton match will be another chance for him to turn things around for the better. The English striker needs to start scoring goals consistently if Man United are to compete for a top 4 place this season.
