Monday night saw the Erik ten Hag era finally begin at Manchester United, as they pulled off a massive upset over their bitterest of rivals. And for Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, it was slumpbusting experience and maybe the start of a better run of form. Now comes a trip to consistent mid-tablers Southampton FC. United and their fans need to be on let down alert here.
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Manchester United at Southampton FC FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Aug 27, 12:30pm, St. Mary’s
MUFC Starting XI Prediction: go here
After Extra Time Podcast: Spotify Apple
PL Table Position: United 14th, 3pts Southampton 11th 4pts
Form Guide: United WLL Southampton WDL
Google Result Probability: United 55% Southampton 22% Draw 23%
Team News for Both Sides
Out injured for United are Victor Lindelof (knock), Brandon Williams (undisclosed) and Facundo Pellistri (ankle). All three have yet to feature this season. Mason Greenwood remains indefinitely suspended, but we have actually seen a very recent photo of him again.
Yes, Greenwood was snapped outside his parents’ £3 million Cheshire home, about two and a half weeks ago, when he helped track down the family dog, which was running away. Greenwood was last seen in public (in a non-court setting) back in April. He still has an active player profile page on United’s official website, as he remains out on bail on charges of rape and threatening to kill.
His social media pages are still live, but he’s been dropped by all sponsors. Speaking of United forwards that have been publicly accused of sexual crimes, the future of Cristiano Ronaldo remains in question. Here’s a link to the latest on that.
For Southampton, Valentino Livramento (knee) is out while Romain Perraud (groin) is a doubt.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.