On Sunday 22nd August Ole Gunnar Solskjaer takes his tricky reds down to the St Mary’s to take on Ralph Hasenhüttl’s Southampton. The match comes off the back of a very strong start to the Premier League campaign for Manchester United. After beating Leeds 5-1 at Old Trafford on the opening weekend, the Red Devils come into this game with excellent form.
The Saints, on the other hand, had a less than ideal start to their season, losing 3-1 to Everton. They looked bright in the first half of that game. They scored inside 22 minutes thanks to a Che Adams ball linking up with Adam Armstrong. Since the departure of Danny Ings as their main goal threat, both of these players will try to fill that gap. However in the second half of that game they looked shaky. Consceding three in close to half an hour is a sign that things are not solid at the back. Throwing a lead almost straight after half time is something that can be targeted by Manchester United.
Hassenhüttl will most likely stick with a 4-4-2 formation, with Alex McCarthy keeping his place in net. At centre-back we could see the same pairing of Jack Stephens and Mohammed Salisu that started against Everton. However, Jan Bednarek could be pushing for a start this weekend. New signing Romain Perraud will more than likely line up on the left of a back four. With Kyle Walker-Peters looking for his first game of the season at right-back. Central midfield will most likely see the return of Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse. With Moussa Djenepo and Theo Walcott or Nathan Redmond taking up the flanks. With the two up top being Adam Armstrong and Che Adams.
Ole will most likely go for a team that is not too dissimilar to that which started against Leeds. I expect David de Gea to return in net, with Dean Henderson still out with long covid. With Varane not featuring against Burnley in the friendly midweek I don’t expect him to start. I think we saw that Fred and McTominay can work. Although with Donny van de Beek getting more minutes against Burnley, I’d like to see him line up alongside Fred potentially. I expect Paul Pogba to return on the left with Bruno in the ten and Mason Greenwood playing up top. I would imagine that Jadon Sancho will get the nod from the start on the right wing with potentially a look to make a change in the second half.
This should be more than enough to beat what is so far a rather stuttering Southampton team. Given that in the past six meetings United have won three and drawn three. Included in those three wins is the 9-0 smashing from last season. Given all of that, hopefully we can kick off our away form and continue what has been a stellar start to the season.