Southampton -v- Manchester United
Premier League
St Mary’s, Southampton
Saturday 14 September 2024, KO 12:30 BST
Manchester United will be back in Premier League action on Saturday as they travel to St Mary’s to face Southampton. Erik ten Hag will find himself under pressure, more from the media rather than his bosses as United look to overcome a two-match losing run, which is terrible for United.
Southampton have not started back in the Premier League in fine form, losing all three of their opening matches which puts them in 19th place in the league – with Everton below them – albeit on goal difference with the Merseyside club conceding twice as many goals as the Saints.
United could have a rejuvenated squad to travel to the South Coast on Saturday after the first international break of the season. United could also see new signing Manuel Ugarte in the squad and possibly making his Premier League debut for the club, which will be a big occasion for him.
United – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
Liverpool 3-0 L, Brighton 2-1 L, Fulham 1-0 W, City 1-1 (7-6) L
Goals: 1 – Amad, Alejandro Garnacho, Joshua Zirkzee
Assists: 1 – Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, Noussair Mazraoui
Southampton – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
Brentford 3-1 L, Cardiff 5-3 W, Forest 1-0 L, Newcastle 1-0 L
Goals: 2 – Cameron Archer, 1 – Samuel Amo-Ameyaw, James Bree, Mateus Fernandes, Yukinari Sugawara
Assists: 2 – Tyler Dibling, 1 – Mateus Fernandes, Adam Lallana, Charlie Taylor
Previous Meetings & Connections
United and Southampton have met 48 times in the Premier League. United have won 29 matches, drawn 12 matches with the Saints winning seven times. United and the Saints last played in the 2022/23 season; United won 1-0 at St Mary’s, drawing 0-0 at Old Trafford.
United have scored 99 goals against Southampton in the Premier League with the South Coast club scoring 52 against United. United have kept 14 clean sheets in this fixture with Southampton keeping seven. United have won four penalties, scoring two with the Saints winning one and not scoring it.
Luke Shaw, Danny Wallace, Danny Higginbotham, Joe Jordan, Mark Hughes, Morgan Schneiderlin and Andrei Kanchelskis have all played for both United and Southampton over the years. Shaw is the only current player for United to have played at the St Mary’s club.
Team News
Manchester United: United still have a number of players out of action through injury ahead of the Southampton match with both Luke Shaw and Rasmus Hojlund missing out after them supposedly being available after the international break, which is a blow for United.
Ruled Out: Victor Lindelof (ankle/foot), Mason Mount (thigh), Rasmus Hojlund (thigh), Tyrell Malacia (knee), Leny Yoro (ankle/foot) and Luke Shaw (calf/shin/heel)
Suspended: None
Close to Returning: None
Southampton: The Saints have not started life back in the Premier League very well with three defeats in three matches, seeing them sit in 19th place in the league, just above Everton. It puts them into the ‘relegation candidates’ place once again, which is a shame for the club.
Ruled Out: Gavin Bazunu (calf/shin/heel),Kamaldeen Sulemana (ankle/foot)
Suspended: None
Close to Returning: Ross Stewart (late fitness test)
Predicted United Starting XI – 4-2-3-1
Onana;
Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot;
Ugarte, Mainoo;
Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford;
Zirkzee
Predicted Southampton Starting XI – 4-2-3-1
Ramsdale;
Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens;
Sugawara, Smallbone, Downes, Aribo, Walker-Peters;
Armstrong, Brereton
Match Prediction
United need to be winning these matches but it is also these matches that United seem to lose easily. On paper, with Southampton’s form this season, United should be getting the better of the Premier League strugglers but you just know it is going to be one of those close matches.
Southampton could take the negativity away from their season with a victory over United, which which no doubt be a major blow to United and Ten Hag at this stage of the season. United really need to be getting so much better after the changes which have been made this summer.
That said, there are still a number of injuries at the club, which gives United just one experienced striker, but he has not featured in the Premier League before this season. United’s midfield needs to be so much better too with Casemiro dreadful against Liverpool, which was a shame to see.
Southampton 1-2 Manchester United
Written by Paul
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