Anthony Martial who has two goals in three games thus far for Manchester United this season, suffered a muscular injury in his left thigh during the home loss to Crystal Palace last weekend. The Frenchman now faces a race against time to be fit for the final Premier League clash before the first international break, Saturday at Southampton FC.
If Martial can’t go, and Alexis Sanchez finalizing his move to Inter Milan, options could be limited in attack, and thus creativity will be required by manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer for his selection in the final third.
There are so many ways you can go with this, and I seriously invite you to post your own lineup in the comments section below. Is it time to bench Jesse Lingard? Does Juan Mata come in for him instead?
With Martial out, does Marcus Rashford lead the line?
Who is placed in the central attacking position?
Does 17-year-old Mason Greenwood get a starting nod? Well, there are numerous potential answers to this one, and it will be fascinating to see what happens when the team sheet is posted an hour before kickoff at the St. Mary’s.
Here’s what we came up with.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction at Southampton FC
Marcus Rashford
Daniel James Mason Greenwood Juan Mata
Paul Pogba Scott McTominay
Ashley Young Victor Lindelof Harry Maguire Aaron Wan-Bissaka
David de Gea
Manchester United at Southampton FC FYIs
Team News: 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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