Manchester United travel to St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men search for their second victory of the campaign.
Last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford was United’s first loss of the season and it leaves the Red Devils winless in their previous two encounters.
Amassing four points thus far has placed Solskjaer’s side in fifth, and given this weekend’s meeting is an early kick-off, they have a chance to join rivals Manchester City on seven points in second.
Saints struggled to kickstart their 2019/20 season, suffering back-to-back defeats to open their account. However, a 2-0 win against Brighton last time out gave Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side their first points of the season.
Last season’s meetings between the two sides saw high-scoring encounters rife with action. In December of last year at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton raced into a two-goal lead but were pegged back and the scores were level at half-time – and that’s how the match ended.
The reverse fixture in March saw United edge a five-goal thriller courtesy of Romelu Lukaku’s 88th minute winner. If last season is any indication for what’s to come, we can expect goals on Saturday, so bet on both teams to score on stoixima24.
The Red Devils haven’t lost to Southampton in their previous seven meetings; a 1-0 win for Saints in 2016 was the last time they emerged victorious.
United, though, are without a win away from home in the Premier League since February – beating Crystal Palace 3-2 at Selhurst Park. If they want to come out with all three points, they will have to earn their first victory on the road in six months.
Solskjaer does not have Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial available for this clash after picking up hamstring and thigh injuries respectively.
The defensive trio of Diogo Dalot, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Eric Bailly all remain sidelined.
Southampton will be without Nathan Redmond, who scored in their last Premier League outing, after sustaining an ankle injury midweek.
Summer signing Moussa Djenepo remains sidelined following his injury he picked up last week, while Michael Obafemi is likely to miss out after suffering cramp in midweek. Defender Ryan Bertrand is back in training but is unlikely to feature.
Solskjaer’s men should not underestimate the attacking capabilities Southampton hold, and if United want to collect their first away win of the campaign, they will have to battle hard and be clinical when opportunities arise.
