Manchester United entertain Southampton in today’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils recently returned to winning ways with a comfortable 4-1 triumph over Real Betis in the Europa League and manager Erik ten Hag will be expecting another strong performance.
The club are already in a good position to qualify for next season’s Champions League and they can go 10 points clear of fifth-placed Liverpool by beating the Saints in front of their supporters.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
David de Gea was unconvincing between the sticks against Betis. The Spaniard nearly gifted them with their second goal on Thursday. Despite this, he is expected to start. De Gea is currently a couple of clean sheets behind Newcastle United’s Nick Pope in the Golden Glove race.
In defence, there could be a solitary change. Diogo Dalot’s form has been inconsistent since the World Cup. The €32 million-rated right-back was replaced by Aaron Wan-Bissaka at the half-time interval in midweek and the 25-year-old deserves to start against the Saints in our opinion.
The rest of the backline could stay the same. Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw should start. Ten Hag is likely to pick his strongest XI against the Saints. The fringe players could be given a chance in the second leg of the Europa League last 16 tie.
Casemiro and Fred have been United’s best midfield combination after Christian Eriksen’s injury. The Brazilian duo have been a perfect foil for each other and there is no reason to change. However, Casemiro could start on the bench at Betis as he is one yellow card away from a European suspension.
Further forward, Bruno Fernandes, Antony and Marcus Rashford are nailed-on starters after scoring in the 4-1 victory over Real Betis. The same should be the case with Wout Weghorst. The Dutchman squandered three big chances but eventually got his reward, scoring the club’s fourth goal of the night.
Weghorst has been the subject of criticism from some fans and pundits over the past few weeks but Ten Hag has started him in every game since his January arrival. The Dutch tactician clearly has faith in the striker and he should get the nod up front despite Anthony Martial’s return from injury.
How Man Utd could line up vs Southampton
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
