Manchester United will attempt to keep their unbeaten start to the season intact when they take on Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday.
Kick-off: September 23, 15:00; Venue: St Mary’s; Referee: Craig Pawson
Jose Mourinho’s side is placed second in the table after five games, though only because of alphabetical order, and they will have their sights set on reaching the top again with a convincing win over the Saints.
Southampton, on the other hand, have only lost one game this season at home against Watford. The rest of their form shapes up with two wins and two draws.
It will prove to be of great benefit to the Saints to have Virgil van Dijk back in action. The Netherlands international made his first appearance of the season as a late substitute last week against Crystal Palace and could be set to start against United.
Having been eliminated from the League Cup, Mauricio Pellegrini’s men had a full week off, therefore, should have a full squad to choose from.
Mourinho rested a number of regular starters (David de Gea, Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku) for the 4-0 League Cup win over Burton Albion on Wednesday, but they should return on Saturday. Unfortunately, Paul Pogba remains injured along with Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Then there’s Luke Shaw, who made his first appearance after a lengthy injury on Wednesday.
Pellegrini’s side sit ninth in the Premier League table after five games and they appear to have come through a difficult period, yet the last team they will want to face now is United.
Unlike last season, the Reds have blown opponents away with goalscoring sprees but Mourinho will hope his side doesn’t see a repeat of the 2-2 draw against Stoke City, which dropped momentum a little — especially with rivals Manchester City also in action against a terrible Crystal Palace side.
The last time United travelled to St Mary’s the game finished 0-0. Sergio Romero saved a penalty by Manolo Gabbiadini, but the Reds’ primary focus at the time was on the Europa League final.
This time there can’t be any excuses.
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