Manchester United take on Southampton in today’s early Premier League kick-off at St Mary’s.
The Red Devils have had a tough start to the campaign with two defeats in three league games and they are presently 14th in the standings.
United are four points adrift of the top four at such an early stage and today’s game in the South Coast already appears a must-win for them.
We anticipate manager Erik ten Hag to make a couple of changes from the 3-0 loss to Liverpool.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
Andre Onana has been an undisputed starter in the Premier League since his arrival from Inter Milan last year. He is expected to continue in goal ahead of Altay Bayindir.
In the backline, we don’t anticipate any changes but Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui could swap positions. Dalot has looked uncomfortable from the left-back role and he could return to his preferred right-back position, exchanging places with the Moroccan.
Matthijs de Ligt had a dreadful international break with two high-profile errors for the Netherlands leading to goals, but Ten Hag spoke highly of him in the pre-match presser. We expect the Dutchman to line up alongside Lisandro Martinez in central defence.
Casemiro had a dreadful opening half against Liverpool. He was responsible for gifting possession in the lead-up to both goals scored. The Brazilian was substituted at the break. It seems crystal clear that new signing Manuel Ugarte will replace him in the number six position.
Kobbie Mainoo is one of the first names on the United teamsheet following his huge progress over the past year. The youngster is assured to continue in central midfield. Similarly, Bruno Fernandes is a nailed-on starter in the number 10 role.
The United captain has yet to make a goal contribution in the top flight this term, but he was superb for Portugal in the Nations League recently with a goal and assist against Scotland and Croatia respectively.
Further forward, Marcus Rashford could keep his place on the left wing after creating two clear-cut chances against Liverpool. Joshua Zirkzee squandered both opportunities with his poor finishing.
Zirkzee should still get the nod up front, having looked in good shape for the Netherlands against Bosnia & Herzegovina. He netted a goal and provided an assist in a resounding 5-2 victory.
We anticipate a surprise change on the right wing with Amad Diallo starting ahead of Alejandro Garnacho. Garnacho was ineffective before the break with three touches in the box against Liverpool.
Diallo replaced him in the 69th minute and made a better impression with eight touches in the opposition box, creating one big chance. The Ivorian could get the nod over Garnacho in the XI.
How Man Utd could line up against Southampton
