TEAM NEWS
Alex Telles could return for Manchester United after completing a period of isolation due to Covid-19 but fellow Brazilian Fred is still unavailable after testing positive for the virus.
Eric Bailly and Nemanja Matic are out with respective ankle and shin issues.
Tino Livramento was rested by Southampton in midweek after his recent return from a knee problem but he is likely to play at Old Trafford.
Nathan Redmond remains sidelined by an ankle injury.
LAWRO’S PREDICTION
United are still very up and down during games and we saw again in their draw against Burnley that they don’t seem able to play well for 90 minutes – they only seem to manage it for one half at the moment.
I do think they were unlucky not to beat the Clarets, though. It’s not even the case they are not taking their chances because they did that at Turf Moor, but VAR ruled two of their goals out.
The bigger issue is I am still waiting to see a performance from them under Ralf Rangnick that tells me they are on their way, or up and running, under him.
They need one of those soon so he can point to it as an example of the levels they need to be at every time, but obviously he would settle for a win this weekend however it comes.
Prediction: 2-1
Lawro’s full predictions v American Night actor Jeremy Piven
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- Manchester United are unbeaten in 11 league meetings since a 1-0 home defeat in January 2016 (W5, D6).
- Southampton lost this fixture 9-0 in February last season and have won just two of their 22 Premier League away games at Old Trafford (D4, L16).
- Manchester United have earned a Premier League record 36 points from losing positions against Southampton.
Manchester United
- The Red Devils are unbeaten in 23 home league matches in February since losing 2-1 to Manchester City in February 2008 (W18, D5).
- They have only scored nine goals in as many league games at Old Trafford. United’s failure to score in four home matches this season is already more than in the entirety of 2020-21.
- United’s solitary defeat in their 11 Premier League fixtures since the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came against Wolves on 3 January (W6, D4).
- Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in five goals in his four league appearances against Southampton, scoring twice and assisting three.
- Cristiano Ronaldo has gone five appearances without a goal in all competitions. His most recent longer run without scoring at club level was seven games from December 2008 to January 2009.
Southampton
- Saints are vying to win consecutive league matches for just the second time this season, while it’s 15 months since they earned three straight victories in all competitions.
- They have only lost once in nine games, including two FA Cup ties, and both scored and conceded in all of those fixtures.
- Southampton’s 12-match run without a clean sheet in the Premier League is currently the longest in the division.
- They have conceded an unrivalled 200 Premier League goals since Ralph Hasenhüttl’s first game in charge in December 2018.
- The only opponents Hasenhüttl has never beaten in the Premier League are Manchester United (D3, L3) and Cardiff City (L2).
Choose your Manchester United formation and starting line-up. It’s up to you how to approach it – you could go for the team you WANT the boss to pick or the one you THINK he will.
Choose your Southampton starting formation and line-up. It’s up to you how to approach it – you could go for the team you WANT the boss to pick or the one you THINK he will.
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