Southampton are never an easy team to face, and would normally be one the last teams Manchester United would want to take on this week after two poor results.
The timing of Tuesday’s fixture at Old Trafford might just play into Manchester United’s hands.
Southampton are beginning to pick up injuries, with Theo Walcott, Oriol Romeu, and Ibrahima Diallo all leaving the pitch early against Aston Villa at the weekend.
The Southampton Daily Echo report: “The trio are all likely to miss out on Tuesday’s top-flight clash at Manchester United.”
In addition, the paper reports Southampton are already expected to be without Kyle Walker-Peters and Jannik Vestergaard through injury, while last year’s goalscorer Michael Obafemi is also out.
Obafemi’s goal allowed the Saints to sneak a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in July, one of two draws they managed with United last season.
Earlier this season they pushed United all the way and it took a late winner from Edinson Cavani to earn a 3-2 win.
Southampton’s injury problems could benefit United, but not if we play and defend like we did last week against Sheffield United.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s teams are always hard to play against. Solskjaer has had two wins against him before but never by more than a single goal.
Southampton have slipped down to 11th in the table after a strong start and they will be keen to follow Sheffield United’s lead and get a good result. As we saw last week, the league table does not count for much one the whistle blows.
Over the past month Southampton managed to beat Liverpool in the Premier League and Arsenal in the FA Cup. United will have to work hard to get a win, and must show up with the right attitude.
