Despite their very illustrious club history, Manchester United had never won eight in a row on the road across all competitions until last night. Credit interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he’s making history with United right now. He’s also undefeated in Premier League competition (11 wins, 1 draw) thus far.
If he is to suffer his first defeat in league play on Saturday, then it would be nothing short of a massive upset. United will welcome in Southampton FC, a side that had been sitting in the drop zone until midweek.
Saints beat Fulham yesterday, thereby vaulting themselves above Cardiff City for 17th place and dealing the Craven Cottagers a blow that will likely see them join Huddersfield Town in getting relegated at the end of the season.
The south coast club comes into this contest with striker Danny Ings an injury doubt, joining the other two fitness concerns- Michael Obafemi, who is out for the season and Mario Lemina, who remains a long term absentee.
As for United, their injury crisis didn’t stop them from picking up all three points at Crystal Palace, and they are heavily tipped to win here despite being massive short-handed again.
Jesse Lingard, Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic all face a fight to be fit in time as the trio of United stars are all battling hamstring injuries. Anthony Martial is a doubt as he continues his recovery from a groin injury. The good news is that Marcus Rashford and Marcos Rojo are back however.
Manchester United vs Southampton FC FYIs
Kick-off: Saturday March 2, Old Trafford, 3pm (BST), 9am (CST)
United Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Odds via Odds Checker: United 1/2, Draw 7/2, Southampton 15/2
Google Result Probability: Manchester United win 65%, Draw 21%, Southampton win 14%
Prediction: United 2, Southampton 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.