Manchester United meet relegation battling Southampton at Old Trafford in a Premier League fixture.
Victory will lift Man Utd up to 12th in the table, whilst Southampton will remain bottom regardless of the result.
Team News
Diogo Dalot is suspended for Man Utd following his red card in their FA Cup win at Arsenal on penalties, whilst Marcus Rashford could return after he missed that game due to illness amidst interest from aboard.
Jonny Evans (muscle), Mason Mount (leg), Victor Lindelöf and Luke Shaw (both unspecified) are still sidelined.
Southampton have no fresh injury concerns to report following their FA Cup victory over Swansea, with Flynn Downes (leg) set to make a return.
Jack Stephens (knock) and Ross Stewart (calf) remain ruled out.
When is Kick-Off?
Man Utd host Southampton at Old Trafford on Thursday 16 January at 8pm GMT, live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Man Utd have avoided defeat in their last 15 Premier League meetings against Southampton (W7, D8).
- Southampton are winless in their last seven league visits to Old Trafford (D4, L3).
- United have kept clean sheets in two of their last three home games against Southampton (W1, D2).
- No Utd player has made more touches on the ball in the top-flight this season than Bruno Fernandes (1,329).
- Cameron Archer has been brought on as a substitute on more occasions than any other Southampton player this season (10).
Prediction
Having produced two huge performances against top teams in Liverpool and Arsenal in their last two outings, Man Utd now need to take heart from those displays and start to apply that quality when playing teams around and below them if want to salvage anything from this season let alone a top-ten finish.
Southampton though absolutely beat Swansea in their FA Cup tie with a dominant performance which should give them some confidence to bring to Old Trafford, but they really need to produce a defensive masterpiece and be clinical if want to spring a shock given their awful league form this season.
If I am being honest, this game is Utd’s to lose but at same time it feels must-win for both teams in their quests for top ten and survival respectively, such are their respective gaps to their targets at present so I expect a tough battle between two underperforming teams.
I however do expect Man Utd to take the win which should be fairly routine if they bring their best game.
Prediction: Man Utd 2-0 Southampton
Result: Man Utd 3-1 Southampton
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