Manchester United are hoping to build on their much-deserved win in the derby against Liverpool with another victory this time against Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium.
The Saints came from behind to win 2-1 against Leicester in the league before triumphing 3-0 against Cambridge in the midweek EFL Cup clash. Meanwhile, Manchester United turned the corners of a poor start to the campaign with a 2-1 win over Liverpool.
SOU vs MUN Match Details
Date: Saturday 27 August 2022
Time: 12:30 (BST) / 17:00 (IST)
Venue: St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
SOU vs MUN Match Preview
Che Adams scored twice from the bench as Saints worked their magic again collecting points from losing position for the second week running in the 2-1 win against Leicester. James Maddison’s stunning free-kick gave the Foxes the lead in the game from their only shot on target in the entire game in the 58th minute but the visitors responded with sustained pressure that led Adams to coolly slot past Danny Ward after Bella-Kotchap brilliantly assisted him by holding up the ball from a long throw-in. The former Birmingham striker then produced an acrobatic finish from a sweet delivery by James Ward-Prowse for the winner five minutes from time. The Saints did the trick in the game against Leeds too similarly trailing until the hour-mark but by two goals before strikes from Joe Aribo and then Walker-Peters salvaged a point. Adams moving into a sole number nine position helped him in the game with Hasenhuttl wanting him to stay longer at the club and bump his scoring numbers to help the team forward. Southampton did work hard to earn the points in the last two games but the manager insists it is a significant improvement from the opening day of the season when they leaked four goals against Tottenham despite scoring first. It is also true the team needs to be proactive than reactive in the next game as Manchester United arrives at St Mary’s having kicked off the new era under Erik Ten Hag properly with a huge 2-1 win over Liverpool. This could be a bad time to face the opposition looking to build on that relieving victory after a catastrophic start to their campaign. Not only that, the Saints are scheduled to face Chelsea next in a tough schedule for the club. Hasenhuttl hopes that his team filled with some decent talents can make the game as difficult as possible for the Red Devils who have already felt uncomfortable in previous meetings at this ground.
Coming off a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Brentford to rub salt into their wounds from their opening day loss to Brentford and a big protest staged against the ownership of the club, Manchester United’s huge 2-1 win over Liverpool on Monday evening gave a lot of comfort in the game they were at odds to go down again. Erik Ten Hag decided to bench some known names from the starting eleven in a brave decision that worked out well. The presentation of the new superstar signing of Casemiro from Real Madrid before kick-off at Old Trafford gave a huge morale boost knowing the serial winner will guard their midfield in upcoming days. Facing a Liverpool side rattled with injury problems and toothless in attack with Darwin Nunez suspended, United showed aggressiveness from the get-go something missed hugely in the last two games. Jadon Sancho scored only his fourth league goal in more than a year with the club with Marcus Rashford stepping on to the occasion by scoring his fifth goal against Liverpool to seal the win. Mohamed Salah halved the deficit late in the game but the fragile Liverpool team never looked to come back from the defeat. It's early but the victory comes at the right moment for Erik Ten Hag to assert his authority and use those players akin to his tactics already making a statement by benching Maguire and Ronaldo, the latter's future still uncertain at the club while the defender needs to improve his form if he wants to be a starter. Lisandro Martinez showed his class in the game to shove off his criticism regarding his height pairing with a leader like Raphael Varane at the back and with Casemiro soon to be included in the mix, the atmosphere is turning positive at the club. The Red Devils are also stepping up their offer for Ajax’s Antony and looking at Martin Dubravka for the goalkeeping spot with a right-back addition also demanded. Another win will help them secure the deals quicker before the transfer deadline day as Erik Ten Hag wishes to build the necessary momentum inside the team to take them to expected heights.
Recent Form (all competitions)
SOU: WWDL
MUN: WLL
SOU vs MUN Team News
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has asserted that striker Che Adams is their player and will definitely not sell him this summer amid interest from Everton. The 26-year-old will continue to lead the frontline after scoring twice in the comeback win over Leicester last weekend. Romain Perraud has joined training following his absence due to groin injuries and will be accessed before facing United on Saturday. There are no other injury concerns in the squad with Tino Livramento a known long-term absentee because of a cruciate ligament injury.
The big question for Manchester United was whether Casemiro will receive his work permit in time to feature against Southampton and according to several reports it has been granted. Hence, the Brazilian midfield ace is expected to partner Christian Eriksen in the midfield at the weekend. Three regular names in the squad, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo were dropped in the win over Liverpool with Tyrell Malacia, Raphael Varane and Anthony Elanga replacing them in the starting eleven. Elanga was replaced at half-time by Anthony Martial from injury but the Frenchman won't be in contention again after picking up an Achilles problem after the game. The Red Devils continue to be without Brandon Williams, Facundo Pellestri and Victor Lindelof due to their respective injuries. There won't be any changes to the lineup that faced Liverpool.
SOU vs MUN Predicted Lineups
SOU: Gavin Bazunu, Walker-Peters, Bella-Ketchup, Mohammed Salisu, Moussa Djenepo; Ward-Prowse, Romeo Lavia, Mohamed Elyounoussi; Joe Aribo, Adam Armstrong, Che Adams
MUN: De Gea, Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Jadon Sancho, Bruno, Anthony Elanga, Fernandes, Marcus Rashford
SOU vs MUN Head to Head
Most of the recent meetings between the sides at St Mary’s has ended in a draw although Manchester United have gained two wins in the last six such games. The last one came in a thrilling 3-2 win in 2020 when the Red Devils unleashed a second-half comeback after going 2-0 down before the break. Jan Bednarek scored from a corner to give Southampton the lead before Ward-Prowse slammed in his trademark free-kick to double the score. Bruno Fernandes made amends for his earlier miss by firing home in the 53rd minute from an Edinson Cavani layoff. The Uruguayan then scored a late brace to hand the away side all three points.
SOU vs MUN Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: De Gea
DEF: Dalot, Bella-Kotchap, L Martinez, Malacia
MID: Ward-Prowse, Lavia, Fernandes
FW: Sancho, Adams, Rashford
Captain: James Ward-Prowse
Vice-captain: Bruno Fernandes
Stay tuned to stay updated about the upcoming matches on Fantasy Football.
