Man Utd v Southampton preview: Ten Hag pushing to secure top-four spot
Manager Erik ten Hag said he was “very grateful” for the support of the home crowd and their loyalty is certainly being rewarded with results this term, with the Red Devils unbeaten in 20 consecutive matches at Old Trafford (W18, D2).
Attention now quickly switches to consolidating a place inside the Premier League (PL) top-four, with any aspirations of chasing a first title in decade all-but over with a 14-point deficit to league leaders Arsenal ahead of this round.
United certainly seem well placed to at least fend off any advances for their top-four spot though, as they boast the division’s joint-best home defence (GA: 8), while they’ve also scored at least twice in all but two of their games in 2023 (W14, D3, L2).
Southampton make the long journey north in good spirits, fresh from winning two of their last three PL outings ‘to nil’ (L1). Their latest success was a 1-0 victory over Leicester, but it still wasn’t enough to impress manager Rubén Sellés who insisted the “performance can be better” and his players may need to heed that warning considering the Saints have lost more PL games against United than any other side (29).
This is a fixture Southampton have won just twice since 2003, but the Saints can perhaps take heart from the fact both of those were 1-0 victories at Old Trafford in the PL, part of a run of just four defeats from their last nine visits to Old Trafford (W2, D3).
They’ve been more comfortable on their travels this term too, earning 12 of their 21 points on the road, but it’s been an all or nothing tale given none of their 16 competitive away games this season ended level (W6, L10).
Key battle: The next goal United score against Southampton will be their 100th against them in the PL, and Bruno Fernandes may well be the man to get it having netted in this season’s reverse fixture. Midfield rival James Ward-Prowse played in both the Saints’ latest wins at United, while he’s also scored twice against the Red Devils - both ending in 3-2 defeats for Southampton.
Hot stat: Man Utd have netted at least twice in 15 successive home matches for just the fourth time in their history.