Manchester United welcome Southampton to Old Trafford on January 12 for an exciting Premier League match-up, looking to steady their sinking ship with a win over the relegation battlers.
At the time of writing, United are coming off four consecutive losses across all competitions. They find themselves rotting in 14th place on the table, only seven points away from the relegation zone.
The Reds have lost their last three league matches at the Theatre of Dreams, and new manager Ruben Amorim needs to arrest this slide or could be out of a job soon.
Meanwhile, Southampton sit at the bottom of the league table with only one win after 19 games (L15, D3).
The Saints dismissed manager Russell Martin following their 5-0 mullering at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. The south coast club brought in the pragmatic Ivan Juric, but his arrival has not impacted their fortunes.
Southampton lost successive Premier League games under his tutelage and look a shoo-in for relegation ahead of a mouth-watering clash with Man United.
Both sides have plenty at stake heading into this contest, so fans who purchase Man United vs Southampton tickets from Seatsnet.com will be treated to a blockbuster showdown between two teams that desperately need three points.
Match Preview
Amorim’s ponderous decision to leave the promising Sporting CP project in the middle of the season for Man United has come to haunt him.
With no pre-season to instill his ideas and no transfer window to sign his own players, he is stuck with duds and struggling to breathe life into the team.
At the time of writing, the Red Devils suffered a 2-0 loss to Newcastle United in their last outing. Besides being their third Premier League loss in a row, it was their fifth in the previous six league matches.
United sit in 14th position, seven points above Ipswich, who occupy the closest relegation slot. It is the lowest position United have been in at the turn of the year since 1989, when they were 15th on New Year’s Eve.
Since Amorim arrived on English shores in November, United have taken only seven points from a possible 24, recording only two wins in eight Premier League matches (L5, D1).
United lost six games in all competitions in December, conceding 18 times on a dismal average of three goals per game.
Since Amorim’s first game, only Southampton (7) have lost more games in all competitions among Premier League clubs than United.
Three points are imperative against Southampton as they look to end this landslide, but with their current form, it is easier said than done.
As for Southampton, their struggles were anticipated at the beginning of the season.
With a manager married to an impractical ideology and an underwhelming transfer window, Southampton had doom written all over them from the jump, and those prophecies have come to pass.
Despite their “attacking” brand of football under Martin, they were the lowest-scoring team in the English top flight, and their defence was abhorrently porous.
Serie A journeyman Juric brought his underwhelming resume to the south coast and is unsurprisingly struggling to turn the tide.
He was coming off another failed adventure in Rome, and his chances of magically changing things at Southampton were next to nothing.
At the time of writing, the Saints are rock bottom with just six points following their 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace. Even the infamous 2007/08 Derby County – the worst team in Premier League history – had more points at this stage.
Southampton have shipped 39 goals. Only fellow relegation strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City have conceded more. The Saints have committed 11 errors leading to goals, the most by a side across Europe’s big five leagues this term.
If this Southampton side wants a shot at escaping relegation (an extraordinary feat), they must pick up a positive result against an out-of-luck Man United side on January 12.
Head to Head
You’d have to go back to 2016 for the last time Southampton defeated Man United in a Premier League game. However, they held the Red Devils to a draw in their previous two meetings at Old Trafford.
In their 16 league clashes since that loss eight years ago, United won seven, drawing nine.
The Reds pulled no punches in their last game against Southampton, thumping them 3-0 thanks to goals from Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, and Matthijs De Ligt in September.
Best XIs
Man United
Amorim will likely roll with Andre Onana, who has endured a torrid past few weeks with the mistakes creeping back into his game, between the sticks. Ahead of him should be Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs De Ligt, and Harry Maguire holding the defensive line.
With Luke Shaw still out, one of Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot will start at left-back while the other takes the right slot.
Manuel Ugarte should partner with Christian Eriksen in the engine room with Amad Diallo and Bruno Fernandes behind the underperforming Rasmus Hojlund. Mason Mount and Victor Lindelof are still out with injuries.
(3-4-2-1): Onana; De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez; Mazraoui, Eriksen, Ugarte, Dalot; Fernandes, Diallo; Hojlund.
Southampton
Ramsdale will start between the sticks for Southampton. He will fill in for the injured Gavin Bazunu. Ahead of him, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Jan Bednarek, and Nathan Wood-Gordon will form the defensive trio.
With Jack Stephens sidelined, Yukinari Sugawara and Kyle Walker-Peters are expected to start as the wing-backs, offering both defensive coverage and width in attack.
In midfield, Flynn Downes and Lesley Ugochukwu will be tasked with breaking up play and transitioning the ball forward.
Up front, Tyler Dibling and Mateus Fernandes will support the towering Paul Onuachu, who will lead the line as Southampton’s main attacking threat. In addition to Bazunu and Stephens, Ross Stewart and Will Smallbone are also unavailable due to injuries.
(3-4-2-1): Ramsdale; Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Wood-Gordon; Sugawara, Downes, Ugochukwu, Walker-Peters; Dibling, Fernandes, Onuachu.
Ticket Information
Fans eager to cheer on their favourite teams live can secure tickets through official club websites. For those seeking great deals, Seatsnet.com offers a reliable marketplace to find subsidised tickets for every Premier League fixture, ensuring you don’t miss out on the action.
How to Watch
In the United Kingdom, Premier League matches are broadcast live on Sky Sports, TNT Sports, and Amazon Prime Video, offering extensive coverage of the season. Sky Sports leads with 128 live fixtures, TNT Sports airs 52 games, and Amazon Prime Video streams 20 matches, providing fans multiple options to catch their favourite teams in action.
