Man United must prove their mettle
From a level playing position with Man City, Man United is now 4 points behind their arch-rivals in the same city and has played 1 more match. While The Citizens have overcome the uncertainty at the start of the season, M.U is starting to taste this feeling.
After losing to Sheffield and not being able to beat Arsenal, M.U miscalculated the loss of form and made wrong decisions about personnel. It is understandable Ole Solskjaer's changes in personality, but it is the current urgent situation that has confused him.
Two important things Solsa needs to do before this match are to assess Bruno Fernandes' declining form and find a way to use Edinson Cavani. The match against Sheffield was not worth Bruno's exhaustion and was quite lackluster in the following match against Arsenal. With no goals and assists in five consecutive Premier League games, the Portuguese midfielder needs to relax.
Without Bruno, Man United still have many players who can play against Southampton. If Ole should let the team's No. 1 star loose one game by sitting on the bench. Because if I try too hard, everything will be counterproductive.
If he continued to use Anthony Martial, Ole saw the negativity. Despite his age, Cavani still proved his ability throughout the 90 minutes. Without him, M.U would have to endure situations in front of the opponent's goal without knowing what to do like Marcus Rashford.
In addition, it was the Uruguayan star who brought M.U a victory in the comeback against Southampton in the first leg. His fate needs to continue to be promoted while M.U must win at all costs.
Southampton are still a mess
3 consecutive losses but that does not mean The Saint are considered a weak team against Manchester United. The visitors this season may play loosely against average teams but against the "rich", So'ton is always a big obstacle.
The strength of the red-white striped team is the set pieces. For James Ward-Prowse, every free kick is as dangerous as a penalty. The weakness of M.U's defense is that often making mistakes within 27m of David De Gea's goal, Southampton can seize the opportunity from "the best free-kick player on the planet" as Pep Guardiola commented.
Southampton are in a different position to themselves at the beginning of the season, when they faced M.U. However, looking at how Brighton could have beaten Tottenham two days ago, nothing is impossible. Ralph Hasenhuttl and his team could create an earthquake at Old Trafford
The match between Manchester United and Southampton takes place at 3:15 a.m. on February 3 (Vietnam time), live on K+.
