Manchester United started their 2019/20 season with a huge 4-0 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford, but they have not been able to win afterwards and last week they suffered a disappointing 1-2 loss to Crystal Palace at home. The Red Devils will aim to bounce back in their final game before the international break, as they will travelled to Southampton to take on The Saints. Kick-off for this match at St. Mary’s Stadium is slated for Saturday at 12:30 hrs BST.
Team News
Manchester United won’t have Eric Bailly, as the Ivorian centre-back won’t return until 2020 due to a knee injury. Timothy Fosu-Mensah is out injured as well. Alexis Sanchez has left the club to join Inter Milan, while Matteo Darmian and Chris Smalling could also spend their seasons on the Serie A. As if that wasn’t enough, Diogo Dalot, Anthony Martial and Luke Shaw will also miss the game. The latter two picked up knocks during last week’s match against Crystal Palace.
As for Southampton, they could have some key players missing as well. Winger Nathan Redmond, who scored last week against Brighton, is doubtful due to an ankle issue sustained on Tuesday in a Carabao Cup match against Fulham. Full-back Ryan Bertrand is also doubtful after he has missed Southampton’s last two matches. The rest of the side, however, should be fit and available for this encounter.
Form guide
Manchester United ended their undefeated run last week following a 1-2 loss to Crystal Palace at home. The Red Devils own a W1, D1, L1 mark in their first three games of the 2019-20 Premier League season.
On the other hand, Southampton picked up their first win of the season last week at Brighton (2-0). The Southern side has a W1, L2 record this season, however, as they began their campaign with back-to-back defeats to Burnley and Liverpool. They also began their Carabao Cup campaign, where they defeated Fulham earlier this week (1-0).
What is our recent record against Southampton?
There have been 125 previous competitive meetings between the clubs, with United notching 65 victories to the Saints’ 27, and the remaining 33 contests ending in draws. Manchester United are also undefeated in their last 11 visits to St. Mary’s Stadium.
The most recent match between these two sides at St. Mary’s came last season. United came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw thanks to goals from Romelu Lukaku and Ander Herrera.
Predicted outcome
Manchester United will aim to clinch their first away win of the season despite being considerably depleted on both sides of the ball. However, they own a solid record at St. Mary’s Stadium and are in need of a bounce-back performance. Considering the form of both clubs entering this matchup, Manchester United shouldn’t have major issues to secure the three points in this fixture.
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