Manchester United head to the south coast to take on a surprisingly in-form Southampton side in what will be the very first match of the final Premier League weekend ahead of the international break.
Saints have not beaten United at the St. Mary’s since 2003, but they do get the Red Devils at a time when the Old Trafford outfit is licking their wounds. Of course, they have their own issues when it comes to the team fitness situation. They will still be without long-term absentee Sam McQueen (ACL), as well as a trio of attackers.
“At the moment it looks like Nathan Redmond is out for two or three weeks, it could be longer,” Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl said. “He has rehab and for the next ten days he has to wear a shoe to make sure he does not move his ankle.”
Elsewhere Michael Obafemi will also miss out after limping off against Fulham in the League Cup due to muscle fatigue. And new signing Moussa Djenepo is also unavailable due to a muscle injury suffered in that Fulham clash.
Flipping over to United, Luke Shaw will not get the opportunity to face his former club on Saturday.
The 24-year-old picked up a hamstring injury in the Red Devils’ first ever Premier League loss to Crystal Palace last weekend. Shaw was forced off in the first half, and it has been widely reported that he’ll miss the next month of action.
One player that would have conceivably deputized while he’s out of commission is Diogo Dalot, but he’s also unavailable for selection in this one. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said five days ago that Dalot won’t be back until after the break.
The club is also without Eric Bailly and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who are both sidelined with knee injuries.
Of course, the big question mark here is Anthony Martial. We probably won’t get any clues into his fitness situation until Friday, and his status could be a game time decision.
The Frenchman, who has two goals and an assist in the three games this season, suffered a muscular injury in his left thigh. And with Alexis Sanchez finalizing his move to Inter Milan, the depth chart situation could lead to a very creative selection decision for Solskjaer in the final third.
Manchester United at Southampton FC FYIs
United Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Kickoff: Saturday, Aug 31, St. Mary’s Stadium
Google Result Probability: United win 47%, Draw 28%, Southampton win 25%
Odds via Betway: United win 1, Draw 23/10, Southampton win 3/1
Prediction: United 1, Southampton 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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