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Manchester United vs. Southampton: EPL Match Preview & Prediction
On Thursday night, Manchester United and Southampton, two struggling Premier League teams, will meet at Old Trafford to build on last weekend's excellent FA Cup victory. These two sides last met in September last year when Manchester United won 3-0 at St. Mary's.
Previous Matches and Head-to-head
Although Manchester United have lost their past six matches in a row in all competitions, head coach Ruben Amorim hopes his team can soon turn things around after their recent road victories over Arsenal and Liverpool.
United eliminated Arsenal from the FA Cup third round on Sunday, thanks to an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Altay Bayindir. This comes after United unexpectedly salvaged a point from Liverpool, who are currently leading the Premier League, in a 2-2 draw at Anfield a week ago.
Amorim expressed his satisfaction with his team's "competed" and "fought" performance in their win over Arsenal and urged his players to step up their game if they want to move up the Premier League standings. Manchester United are currently in 13th place, having won just once in their last seven league games.
Man Utd, who are currently in the relegation zone rather than the top four, will be looking to turn things around in the next few weeks. They have a favorable home match against Southampton on Thursday, the first of seven games against teams currently outside the top eight.
Despite drawing eight of their previous fifteen Premier League encounters with the Saints, including their last two at Old Trafford, the Red Devils are undefeated in their previous fifteen overall. They are looking to prevent a fourth consecutive home loss.
After 20 games, Southampton has officially become the poorest side in Premier League history, with six points and a goal differential of -32. It's safe to say that they've had a tough time readjusting to top-flight play this season.
The onus is now on the Saints' new head coach, Ivan Juric, to perform miracles if they want to narrow the 10-point deficit to safety; even the notorious Derby County team of 2007–08, who were relegated with only 10 points, had more points at this time in the season.
Since taking over for Russell Martin, Juric has presided over three straight Premier League losses for Southampton. The most recent of these was a 5-0 home loss to Brentford a little over a week ago, Southampton's sixteenth loss of the season and eighth loss by a two-goal margin.
On Sunday, however, the Saints had cause for celebration as they cruised to a 3-0 home FA Cup win against Swansea City, a Championship club. Rising sensation Tyler Dibling scored twice, while Kamaldeen Sulemana also scored.
With Thursday's top-flight match against Manchester United quickly approaching, Southampton will be looking to snap their winless streak on the road at Old Trafford. But in their previous ten league visits to Old Trafford, they've only lost three times (W2 D5), with their most recent draw coming in March 2023.
Manchester United x Southampton Team News
Marcus Rashford's availability is unknown due to his future. At the same time, four Man United players—Luke Shaw (calf), Mason Mount (thigh), Victor Lindelof (both unspecified), and Jonny Evans (both unspecified)—are expected to stay out with injuries.
After receiving a one-match ban for two bookable offenses, Diogo Dalot was sent off in the match against Arsenal. While Noussair Mazraoui or Amad Diallo play on the right side of the field, Tyrell Malacia might be relied upon to fill in at left wing-back.
Leny Yoro will likely challenge Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire to start the central defensive position. At the same time, Amorim may put Joshua Zirkzee in the starting lineup instead of Rasmus Hojlund.
Southampton is still without Jack Stephens (ankle), Juan Larios (unspecified), and Ross Stewart (hamstring). Still, Juric keeps his fingers crossed that Flynn Downes (thigh) can play a role after sitting out the last three matches.
After an encouraging comeback against Swansea, Will Smallbone is again in the mix for a starting role. At the same time, goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, who has been out with an Achilles injury for a time, played for the club's Under-21s last Friday. However, Aaron Ramsdale will still start in goal on Thursday.
The return of midfielder Matheus Fernandes from his one-match suspension in Southampton's last encounter is within reach. At the same time, the attackers Sulemana, Paul Onuachu, Cameron Archer, and Adam Armstrong are likely to be joined by the Man Utd-linked Dibling.
Our Predictions
Manchester United to win & over 2.5 goals @ 1.68 on Sky247.ng
These two Premier League clubs have let in a whopping 72 goals so far this year. Southampton have let in goals in 18 of their 20 league games this season, whilst Manchester United have let in goals in their previous seven Premier League encounters.
So, Thursday should see goalmouth activity on both sides. However, we still think Manchester United will overcome the Saints and score more goals than their opponents, bringing home three Premier League points for the first time at Old Trafford since December 1.
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