Manchester United travel St. Mary’s Stadium on Sunday as they face Southampton in the Premier League. The Red Devils are coming on the back of three consecutive wins in all competitions, including a 4-1 triumph over Istanbul Basaksehir in midweek. Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer’s men, therefore, will look to push further up the table by sealing all three points against the Saints this weekend.
Predicted Manchester United Lineup Vs Southampton
Defence
Solskjaer has to deal with some notable injury-related absentees heading into this game. Luke Shaw has been ruled out already with a hamstring problem, with the left-back joining Phil Jones on the sidelines. Eric Bailly also remains a doubt for this fixture, alongside Victor Lindelof, although the latter is expected to make the starting eleven on Sunday.
The Swede international should retain his place at the heart of United’s four-man backline alongside Harry Maguire. Alex Telles, meanwhile, is a guaranteed starter due to the absence of Shaw.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, too, is likely to recover in time despite struggling with a minor knock throughout the week. Timothy Fosu-Mensah is on standby should the Englishman misses out.
Another player likely to retain his place in the side is David de Gea. The Spaniard, who starred in the narrow win over West Brom will be hoping to continue his excellent run of form this season.
Midfield
Solskjaer is sweating on the fitness of Paul Pogba, who was suffering from a minor knock. Nonetheless, it remains unlikely that the Frenchman would be drafted into the starting lineup even if he is fit. And with Donny van de Beek featuring in midweek, it means Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay are battling for the spot in central midfield alongside Fred.
We expect the experienced Serb to get the nod due to his experience and physical prowess that could be useful against a hard-working side like Southampton. It will be imperative that he forms a strong second line of press alongside Fred.
Attack
Manchester United has recently adopted a 4-2-3-1 setup with the additional attacking slot aiding Juan Mata to get into the team. The ageing Spaniard is once again expected to form the creative trio for the Red Devils this weekend, alongside Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
Mata’s introduction, however, will force Edinson Cavani to return to the bench, thus forcing Anthony Martial to operate as a centre-forward.
