Get set for Southampton’s trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United by checking out our Match Pack, in association with SportPesa...
THE MATCH
Manchester United vs Saints
Premier League
Old Trafford
Saturday 2nd March, 3pm GMT
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Stuart Attwell
Assistants: Constantine Hatzidakis, Richard West
Fourth official: Martin Atkinson
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Saints will head to Old Trafford buoyed by a significant step forward following the 2-0 victory over Fulham on Wednesday night at St Mary’s.
That took Ralph Hasenhüttl’s men out of the bottom three, with Cardiff City losing 3-0 at home to Everton the previous night.
Having caused upsets in Manchester before in recent years, Saints have drawn their last two league games and will be hoping to avoid defeat in three consecutive fixtures against them for the first time since May 1989.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United set a new club for consecutive away wins on Wednesday, when they recorded a 3-1 success at Crystal Palace in the Premier League, thanks to two goals from Romelu Lukaku and Ashley Young.
TEAM NEWS
Southampton: Ralph Hasenhüttl has confirmed that Danny Ings and Mario Lemina will remain sidelined for this weekend’s fixture, while Michael Obafemi has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring issue
Manchester United: Marcus Rashford has overcome an ankle problem and could start Saturday’s clash. Anthony Martial may not be risked, while there are further injuries to Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard.
FORM GUIDE
Manchester United’s last five:
Crystal Palace (a) W 1-3
Liverpool (h) D 0-0
Chelsea (a) W 0-2
PSG (h) L 0-2
Fulham (a) W 3-0
Southampton’s last five:
Fulham (h) W 2-0
Arsenal (a) L 0-2
Cardiff (h) L 1-2
Burnley (a) D 1-1
Crystal Palace (h) D 1-1
THE MANAGERS
Ralph Hasenhüttl: "At the moment it seems it is getting back to the situation where it is very, very hard to take points at Old Trafford. But as a manager and my team doesn’t think in that way. We know that we can be a difficult opponent in every stadium against every team if we are organised. I am positive. We had an important win on Wednesday and now we go with not that much pressure as nobody expects something from us. We have shown we can take points in away games.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: "It was a big win for them against Fulham so they'll be confident coming into the game. But we need to look at our own approach — we've got to focus on what we can improve on."
TOP PERFORMERS
James Ward-Prowse’s recent form has seen him tipped for a recall to Gareth Southgate’s England squad. While that decision is out of his hands, four goals in his last eight games from central midfield is making those calls increasingly hard to ignore.
Described by his manager following the win over Fulham as “the complete package who fits perfectly into our game”, Ward-Prowse will no doubt be relishing the test at Manchester United this weekend.
For the hosts, Paul Pogba has excelled under Solskjaer, scoring three and assisting three goals in six February appearances. Defensively, Victor Lindelof has also been outstanding – contributing to three clean sheets in five appearances last month.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Played: 124
Southampton: 27
Draws: 33
Manchester United: 64
Previous five meetings:
December 2018: Southampton 2-2 Manchester United (Armstrong, Cedric)
December 2017: Manchester United 0-0 Southampton
September 2017: Southampton 0-1 Manchester United
May 2017: Southampton 0-0 Manchester United
February 2017: Manchester United 3-2 Southampton (EFL Cup final)
DID YOU KNOW?
- Since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge, Man Utd have won at least five more Premier League points than any other side (29).
- Manchester United have won just one of their five home Premier League games against Southampton since Sir Alex Ferguson retired (W1 D2 L2).
NOT AT THE GAME?
Don’t worry if you can’t make it to Old Trafford, as we’ll be here to bring you all of the action, as well as a host of behind-the-scenes access.
Check out our interactive match centre at southamptonfc.com, with all of the live in-game updates and free audio commentary of the match.
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