Preview: Manchester United v Southampton; Kick-off: December 30, 17:30; Venue: Old Trafford; Referee: Craig Pawson
Manchester United will attempt to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they welcome an out-of-form Southampton to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon for what will be their final match of 2017.
The Red Devils are without a victory in their last three matches in all competitions, having lost to Bristol City in the EFL Cup on December 20 before drawing 2-2 with Leicester City and Burnley in their last two Premier League fixtures.
United conceded late away to Leicester on December 23, but needed a stoppage-time equaliser of their own against Burnley on Boxing Day to ensure that they would avoid a second home Premier League defeat of the campaign.
Back-to-back draws means that Jose Mourinho’s side have fallen 15 points behind runaway league leaders Manchester City, who won their 18th straight Premier League match against Newcastle United on Wednesday night.
United are also now just one point clear of third-placed Chelsea, although they sit five points above fourth-placed Liverpool, and are six ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth. It has been far from a poor campaign to date, but it is absolutely vital that the Red Devils end 2017 with a positive performance.
The majority of the supporters are still behind Mourinho, but another poor result against Southampton on Saturday afternoon would lead to more questions. It would also place big pressure on United ahead of their trip to an improving Everton team on New Year’s Day.
United will begin their FA Cup challenge with a third-round fixture against Derby County on January 5, and with City boasting a 15-point lead in the Premier League, that particular competition will take on more importance this season, especially considering the strength of the Champions League this term.
United will fancy their chances of overcoming Southampton this weekend, but City aside, the Saints were the last team to win at Old Trafford in the Premier League. Indeed, Charlie Austin scored a late winner during their meeting in January 2016.
The Red Devils recorded a 1-0 win over Southampton when they travelled to St Mary’s earlier this season, however, with Romelu Lukaku scoring the only goal of what was a largely uneventful affair.
Mourinho’s side will not exactly be full of confidence entering Saturday’s match, but they will welcome a Southampton team that lost 5-2 at Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day. That result saw the Saints drop to 14th position in the Premier League table, and they are now just two points outside of the relegation zone.
Claude Puel was sacked as Southampton boss last summer despite leading the club to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League, in addition to a spot in the final of the League Cup. Mauricio Pellegrino arrived off the back of a very impressive campaign at La Liga club Alaves, but the Argentine has struggled to make things work in the Premier League.
The Saints have not actually landed all three points in the Premier League since a 4-1 win over Everton on November 26. They held Arsenal on December 10, but lost 4-1 at home to Leicester City three days later, and also failed to overcome Huddersfield Town at St Mary’s before losing heavily at Tottenham.
Southampton could well drop into the bottom three if results go against them this weekend, and that would place big pressure on Pellegrino ahead of what is massive game at home to Crystal Palace on January 2. The South Coast club have given City, Arsenal and Chelsea some problems in recent weeks, however, and as mentioned, know what it takes to win at Old Trafford.
Team news
Antonio Valencia and Chris Smalling will again both miss out for United, while Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Eric Bailly are still on the sidelines.
Anthony Martial was pictured in training on Thursday after missing the clash with Burnley on Boxing Day, but Mourinho refused to confirm whether the Frenchman would be available this weekend.
Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard should support Lukaku in the final third, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic dropping to the bench.
As for Southampton, Austin has a hamstring problem, but the striker would have missed out at Old Trafford regardless through suspension.
Head coach Pellegrino also confirmed at his pre-match press conference that first-choice full-backs Ryan Bertrand and Cedric Soares would again be absent through injury, leaving the Saints short in a defensive area.
Dusan Tadic scored off the bench against Tottenham and could make the XI, but Virgil van Dijk will not be involved after it was confirmed on Wednesday that the centre-back is on his way to Liverpool.
Expected starting lineups
United: De Gea; Young, Lindelof, Jones, Shaw; Matic, Pogba; Rashford, Mata, Lingard; Lukaku
Southampton: Forster; Stephens, Yoshida, Hoedt, Targett; Romeu, Hojbjerg, Lemina; Tadic, Gabbiadini, Redmond
Did you know?
Southampton have won on two of their last three league visits to United, having previously endured a run of 19 games without a victory at Old Trafford.
Prediction
Southampton at home is a nice game for United when considering that they are short on confidence following a difficult week or so. The Saints are in rotten form, and were completely outclassed by Tottenham on Tuesday afternoon.
It will be very interesting to see what type of atmosphere greets Mourinho at Old Trafford, but the Red Devils should have enough to return to winning ways in their final match of what has been an up and down 2017.
Score prediction: Manchester United 2-0 Southampton
