Manchester United vs Southampton – prediction, team news and lineups

Manchester United vs Southampton -In a Premier League encounter on Sunday, Manchester United will host Southampton at Old Trafford as they try to extend their current five-game winning streak there.

Erik ten Hag’s team destroyed Real Betis 4-1 in the first half of their Europa League round of 16 encounter on Thursday, while the Saints most recently overcame Leicester City 1-0 to move up the standings.

Ten Hag fielded the same 11 players who gave up in their 7-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield, and he received the exact reaction he was looking for against Betis. At the Theatre of Dreams, Betis experienced the full power of the Red Devils’ propensity for scoring goals.

Manchester United vs Southampton – prediction, team news and lineups

Ayoze Perez’s well-executed equalizer before halftime followed Marcus Rashford’s 25th goal of the season, but Man United emerged in the second half as a different force as Antony, Bruno Fernandes, and Wout Weghorst gave the Red Devils a three-goal lead going into the second leg next weekend.

The devastating Merseyside thrashing they suffered last weekend has left the EFL Cup champions in third position, 14 points behind league-leading Arsenal despite having a game in hand. This puts any remaining slim dreams of a Premier League title challenge to rest. Whereas Ten Hag’s crop is firmly entrenched in the second round of the European competition.

Few opponents have left Old Trafford with anything other than their tails between their legs, but crisis team Tottenham Hotspur, who are still four points behind and have played one more game, means that Man United‘s podium place is currently not in real danger.

While Man United’s victory over Betis extended their impressive 20-game winning streak at the Theatre of Dreams and they have netted at least two goals in each of their past 15 home games, the opposing manager Ruben Selles has experience defeating Big Six teams at their stadium.

There was a good vibe at Saint Mary’s when Leicester came to town last weekend despite the fact that Selles had already gone through all the emotions that come with managing Southampton, from the highs of beating Chelsea to the lows of losing to Leeds United and Grimsby Town.

Before the Argentinian was forced off due to injury, Southampton scored in the 35th minute through January acquisition Carlos Alcaraz, knocking South Coast rivals Bournemouth down to 20th position. Southampton took full advantage of the Foxes’ failure to record a single shot on target.

Manchester United vs Southampton – prediction, team news and lineups

The only thing separating the Saints from Leeds, who are comfortably placed in 17th place, and the Cherries, who are now in 19th place, is goal differential. They may soon be replaced by their fellow bottom-dwelling opponents, West Ham United and Leicester, who are also within striking distance.

Yet, Southampton does not necessarily rely on the supporters at St Mary’s to spur them on, as 12 of their 21 Premier League points this season have actually come from away games. This season, no other team in the division has scored more than half of its points at a rival’s home stadium.

However in August, Man United defeated the Saints 1-0 thanks to a goal from Fernandes in the second half, extending their unbeaten run over them to 14 games since Charlie Austin quiet the Old Trafford crowd in January 2016.