Manchester United’s quest for Champions League football next season enters the latest stage. There are just 10 more rounds of Premier League football before the season concludes and those 30 points available are something three clubs near top of the table are craving for. Man United are currently in a chase for the fourth place in the league, together with Chelsea and Arsenal.
Having in mind the next opponent, Man United will want to keep up with great results. Southampton will be visiting and the three points are an imperative yet again. Still, the situation is not rosy on the south coast and Saints want to make it two wins in a row and distance themselves from the relegation battle.
What Is Southampton’s Current Situation?
Their current situation is better than it was when this week started, but still not great at all. Southampton currently sit in 17th, just above the relegation zone, with 27 points. They have two more than Cardiff and with the Welsh team playing away at Wolves, they will be looking at the result at the Molineux.
Southampton’s position is not a great one, not only because they are currently struggling to get to safety, but because after Man United, in the next four matches they will also have to play Tottenham and Liverpool.
In What Form They Visit Old Trafford?
Their mood will be much better after a 2-0 win over Fulham, but the form has been going up and down. At the start of the year, they had a run of five matches without a loss, as they won twice and drew thrice, including a 0-0 against Chelsea. But then a shocking loss to Cardiff made things much more complicated. Had they won that match, in which they certainly had chances, Southampton would now have been eight points ahead of Neil Warnock’s side.
Who Is Scoring Their Goals?
Southampton have scored just 25 goals. To put it in perspective, even Fulham have scored 26, meaning only Huddersfield have a worse attack than Saints. In such circumstances, it is no wonder their best goalscorer this season is Danny Ings with seven goals. English striker played just 1200 minutes in Premier League this season and if he was injury free, things maybe would have been better by a couple of points, a huge gain when margins are so fine.
James Ward-Prowse scored four and he played even less than Ings, with Redmond, Hojbjerg and Armstrong adding three goals each.
How Are Southampton Expected To Lineup?
Southampton are expected to lineup in a 3-5-2 formation which can slightly resemble 3-6-1. Gunn will be in goal and the three centre-backs should be Bednarek, Yoshida and Vestergaard. As right wingback Valery should be playing, with Matt Targett on the opposite side. Romeu is expected to play as a defensive midfielder, with Ward-Prowse and Hojbjerg to his right and left respectively, just ahead of him. Nathan Redmond will be nominally a striker, but more of a roaming second striker than a poacher, with Shane Long next to him.
Nothing about this team screams creativity or attacking swagger, but in the first match between the two sides, United had seen how dangerous Saints can actually be on their day.
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