Diogo Dalot is one of the most unsung heroes on Manchester United. He is not PFA XI or Ballon d’Or or anything like that, but he’s versatile and reliable, if not, consistently solid. United will miss Diogo Dalot on Thursday, when welcome in Southampton. Fortunately, the opponent is so weak that it won’t matter too much.
Diogo Dalot got two bookings against Arsenal in the FA Cup on the weekend, and that landed him a one-match ban for the midweek clash.
Manchester United vs Southampton FC
Kick off: Thurs. January 16, 8pm, Old Trafford, Manchester, UK
Man United Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Result Probability: Southampton 10% Man United 74% Draw 16%
PL Form, Position: Southampton LDLLLL, 6 pts, 20th Man United WLLLD, 23 pts, 14th
Man United Team News
Elsewhere Marcus Rashford is a doubt to feature against Saints as his agent works on securing his exit from the club. For the record though, he is a doubt due to “illness.” Rashford is truly sick though, he’s just sick of playing for United. That’s what ails him.
And then of course, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Jonny Evans all remain out as longer-term injury absentees.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.