[jamesjimmybyrondean]

Don't get the worry. If smaller oppositions come at us, we will kill them on the counter. If they decide to sit back, we have the players to split them open

 

[Brightonian]

I know I am risking the “first real test” joke, but Southampton is the first decent team we’ll play since the games resumed. We’ll have to start this game strong or it will become hard work. I hope there’s no tiredness or complacency .

We played Spurs and Sheffield. So we've played one decent team already.

 

[Glorio]

I'll just go ahead and say it:

Ole's first real test.


... again

 

[-Supreme-]

Southampton are really good at pressing from the front, if Matic starts then he will need to release the ball quicker as he got caught out a few times against Villa.

 

[freddie the red]

Top 4 was already in our hands with Leicester's last result and top 3 is now with Chelsea's loss today so please let's not screw it up against the Saints!!!

 

[peridigm]

Two more sleeps.

 

[ShinjiNinja26]

It’s vital we win this one and capitalise on Chelsea dropping points. Which will be a big test as it’s something we’ve struggled to do in recent seasons.

 

[diarm]

Don't get the worry. If smaller oppositions come at us, we will kill them on the counter. If they decide to sit back, we have the players to split them open

They are going to press us like hounds from the off. If we're anything like as sluggish as we started the last couple of game, they'll be all over us like a nasty rash and with Ings running hot, they have the quality to hurt us where Villa or Bournemouth couldn't.

 

[Champ]

What’s that got to do with our team selections? You don’t run your own team into the ground because your opponents also have a busy schedule.

So you don't think that Chelsea and the rest will have the same issue??
Everyone in the FA cup has something to play for, it's the same for everyone.

 

[Andersonson]

We will play the same 11 if they are all fit. No need to change anything.

Lets smash them!

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

MUST WIN.

Come on boys you've got this! Tunnel Vision! one game at a time. Lets win every game. Don't even worry about dead food Chelsea and Leicester,

 

[ruskyline]

MUST WIN.

Come on boys you've got this! Tunnel Vision! one game at a time. Lets win every game. Don't even worry about dead food Chelsea and Leicester,

I predict 5-0 to United. We can't let the City score the most goals for the week anymore. We need have more hatrick, have more 5-0, heck even 9-0. If we truely belive that we are a changed team, our score line must also change. If needs to look like Man City more

 

[swedishgloryhunter]

I predict 5-0 to United. We can't let the City score the most goals for the week anymore. We need have more hatrick, have more 5-0, heck even 9-0. If we truely belive that we are a changed team, our score line must also change. If needs to look like Man City more

I wouldn't want to compare us to city. We are already record holders of making alot of goals for several games.
Southampton won't be a easy game as the previous ones. I predict a close 2-1 victory.

 

[WPMUFC]

this game is the real test. Yeah yeah cliche much. But every opportunity we've been given this season to take 4th place has seen us crumble in a pile of nerves and we either lose or draw. A top performance against these lot like we've seen since the restart and i'll actually start to believe we have gone one rung up the ladder to a recovery. Faulter again and all the nice skills and dominate football has been for nothing.

 

[ruskyline]

I wouldn't want to compare us to city. We are already record holders of making alot of goals for several games.
Southampton won't be a easy game as the previous ones. I predict a close 2-1 victory.

Sorry out record doesn't mean much to me. Who cares if we've won with 3 goals of margin for 4 games in a row? If we have truly transitioned into a better team after Bruno and we are talking about winning titles next year and etc. We need to start performing to the same level of our rivals.

 

[nainaisson]

this game is the real test.

It'll be a good test of how press-resistant our back line actually is. I don't want Bailly to start because I know he'll do something stupid, like try to control a ball that he should clear and end up gifting it to Redmond or whoever.

 

[G Best the Belfast Boy]

Tricky game but I think we will get the win. If so, not only do we go above Chelsea and Leicester, I believe we will get the psychological boost that should help us through the run in and at the same time put more pressure on the two aforementioned teams.

I would stick with the strongest team possible and if we get the win then re-evaluate the team for Thursday night with an eye on the FA Cup on the Sunday. Obviously top four is the priority but a win tomorrow night will certainly put us in a very favourable position. Particularly considering Leicester's tough last three game run in; Sheffield United, Spurs and ourselves .

 

[ruskyline]

Tricky game but I think we will get the win. If so, not only do we go above Chelsea and Leicester, I believe we will get the psychological boost that should help us through the run in and at the same time put more pressure on the two aforementioned teams.

I would stick with the strongest team possible and if we get the win then re-evaluate the team for Thursday night with an eye on the FA Cup on the Sunday. Obviously top four is the priority but a win tomorrow night will certainly put us in a very favourable position. Particularly considering Leicester's tough last three game run in; Sheffield United, Spurs and ourselves .

If I were Ole and I learned that City ban stays for at least 1 more year and we are pretty much guaranteed UCL, I'd rest more than half of my key players against Crystal Palace. I agree with a strong lineup for tomorrow's game

 

[gajender]

At the risk of repeating myself I don't think we would have much difficulty in dealing with Southampton yes they have been in decent form but we have been superb without actually moving out of 2nd gear , this team seem to be capable of going couple of levels up if the need arises so expecting another Comfortable outing again.

 

[utdalltheway]

Hope so but it’s also the hope that can kill you
3 pts on Monday and CL is as good as secured

 

[Moiraine]

Leicester scored 8 passed them ?

 

[G Best the Belfast Boy]

If I were Ole and I learned that City ban stays for at least 1 more year and we are pretty much guaranteed UCL, I'd rest more than half of my key players against Crystal Palace. I agree with a strong lineup for tomorrow's game

Yes I totally agree. If City ban stays for at least a year then it makes sense to make key changes for the Palace game.

 

[matys]

Tricky game but I think we will get the win. If so, not only do we go above Chelsea and Leicester, I believe we will get the psychological boost that should help us through the run in and at the same time put more pressure on the two aforementioned teams.

Given they're dropping points today, which isn't too obvious. I wouldn't count on Bornemouth here, they are abysmal and Leicester seem to regain some form.

 

[WPMUFC]

At the risk of repeating myself I don't think we would have much difficulty in dealing with Southampton yes they have been in decent form but we have been superb without actually moving out of 2nd gear , this team seem to be capable of going couple of levels up if the need arises so expecting another Comfortable outing again.

not so much the worry of southampton, more the mentality worry of bottling another top 4 opportunity. It really did seem to effect them pre-corona, we could never capitalise no matter whom we played.

 

[G Best the Belfast Boy]

Given they're dropping points today, which isn't too obvious. I wouldn't count on Bornemouth here, they are abysmal and Leicester seem to regain some form.

To be fair I wouldn't count on Bournmouth today either. However, we are in the driving seat for Champions league particularly if the City ban stays.

Leicester still in it obviously but have a very tough run in.

 

[Skeezix]

Thought the game was tonight. What a bummer!
I'm not confident Bournemouth will be beating Leicester. They are a bit too far from the 16th position.

It is only 2 days from the last game and I can't wait anymore. United are like a really addictive drug these days!
Hoping an Angry Martial dishes his fire and fury on this Southampton team

 

[G Best the Belfast Boy]

Given they're dropping points today, which isn't too obvious. I wouldn't count on Bornemouth here, they are abysmal and Leicester seem to regain some form.

I see what you mean, I really meant overall with remaining games but didn't explain myself properly. I don't expect Bournemouth to get anything from Leicester today (though I can always hope they do). I don't expect we will be above Leicester this coming Tuesday but I do think we will finish higher than them come season end.

 

[TMDaines]

So you don't think that Chelsea and the rest will have the same issue??
Everyone in the FA cup has something to play for, it's the same for everyone.

Your argument currently appears to be that because other teams have a busy schedule, we shouldn’t bother trying to manage ours. We have a big squad for a reason and should use it.

Going into the FA Cup game next weekend, Chelsea have the best part of four days free, we have two; two days means a day of recovery from an evening fixture and then only one day’s training.

If City lose their appeal and United win on Monday, I absolutely expect Ole to give a few of those players the Thursday night off against Palace that would benefit from it. Williams could play for AWB, Bailly for Lindelöf, Fred or McT for Matic and Ighalo for Rashford.

If we still beat Palace as we should, a few others should get the West Ham game off in preparation for Leicester on the final day.

There’s no arrogance in this. In fact there’s a degree of humbleness in recognising our players are playing great, but still need to good rest and recovery to play at their best. I don’t believe that playing the same XI for the final six domestic matches is the best way for us to win them all.

 

[Champ]

Your argument currently appears to be that because other teams have a busy schedule, we shouldn’t bother trying to manage ours. We have a big squad for a reason and should use it.

Going into the FA Cup game next weekend, Chelsea have the best part of four days free, we have two; two days means a day of recovery from an evening fixture and then only one day’s training.

If City lose their appeal and United win on Monday, I absolutely expect Ole to give a few of those players the Thursday night off against Palace that would benefit from it. Williams could play for AWB, Bailly for Lindelöf, Fred or McT for Matic and Ighalo for Rashford.

If we still beat Palace as we should, a few others should get the West Ham game off in preparation for Leicester on the final day.

There’s no arrogance in this. In fact there’s a degree of humbleness in recognising our players are playing great, but still need to good rest and recovery to play at their best. I don’t believe that playing the same XI for the final six domestic matches is the best way for us to win them all.

I think your missing the point entirely here.
I'm saying we should play the best first eleven we can to get a foothold in the game and then take off players as and when.
The reason being is a)we need to win every game, b)every team is in the same boat in terms of rest days etc c) Chelsea aren't resting players, Leicester aren't resting players, Arsenal aren't resting players.
Play the best team you can to win the game.
Bruno would be at more risk of injury coming on as a sub when we are chasing a win.
We shouldn't be wanting to finish any place other than third now, resting important players en mass sends out a different signal.

 

[Feed Me]

I cant believe people are worried about this game that much. I watched their last two games, City absolutly smashed them but didn't have their shooting boots on. The Everton match was pretty even too and we are obviously way better than Everton.

if they play how I think they will play (come at us) then I see us getting a minimum 2 goals.

I totally agree. Cannot believe how much our fans are shitting the bed. But I suppose it comes from years of having teams who continually let you down. The team is in too rich a vein of form, with too much quality and too much of a positive mentality to squander this position and I believe we will get the job done against Southampton. I have to give credit to Solskjaer because it has been quite the turnaround.

 

[Devil81]

Leicester scored 8 passed them ?

They did but that was before the very talented manager realised certain players weren't up to the task and removed them from their team. Hassenhutel is a very talented manager if you ask me and I think he could do a job at a bigger club.

One thing he gets out of his team is incredible work rate so I fully expect a tough game and team that's very hard to break down. Ings and Ward Prowse are talented players and are both capable of scoring against any team.

As much as I'd like to see some of the lads on the line get minutes this isn't the game, full strength for me.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Leicester scored 8 passed them ?

9...but Southampton are terrible at home and very good away.

They have only lost 3 away games by 2 goals or more all season... So people saying they expect us to smash them/will be disappointed if we don't win by 3 goals are doing us a disservice with that sort of expectation.

If we win this by 3 or 4 (which we are capable of doing). the team will deserve a hell of a lot of credit.

 

[GifLord]

Hope we don't feck up this chance - like we usually do when our rivals slip

 

[swedishgloryhunter]

Sorry out record doesn't mean much to me. Who cares if we've won with 3 goals of margin for 4 games in a row? If we have truly transitioned into a better team after Bruno and we are talking about winning titles next year and etc. We need to start performing to the same level of our rivals.

We won against almost all our rivals this season. Its against the lower teams we have been struggling and now we are dominating.

 

[Withnail]

Leicester scored 8 passed them ?

It was 9 and the fact that they had a player sent off after 12 mins may have affected the result

 

[red woppit]

It was 9 and the fact that they had a player sent off after 12 mins may have affected the result

Yep, think it was one of those days when every mistake Southampton made was punished, and everything that Leicester did came of. Ironically Southampton won at Leicester later in the season.
This will be a tough game for us, they will flood midfield and press forward at every opportunity, so our passing from the back needs to be spot on. Wouldn't be surprised if Fred was selected for this one, not so good as Matic on the ball, but his all action style may suit us better. Pogba and Fernandes will also have to put a shift in, as Southampton will work hard, we need to win that battle first, then our quality up front should see us through.

 

[eire-red]

I think our midfield trio will boss the midfield against Ward-Prowse and Romeu, teams now have the conundrum of pressing on Pogba and leaving space for Bruno and vice versa. We should be looking for a solid 2-0 win, but can see them sneaking one as well with the form Ings is in.

I get the whole fitness issue, but when you're winning and playing well I feel that the positive edge you get from that actually removes some of that fatigue from the equation. There's still the risk of muscle injuries of course, but psychologically, there's no way the likes of Greenwood, Martial, Bruno etc are thinking 'I need a rest' when in such good form. Quite the opposite, they're thinking 'Bring it on.'

If we want to get to the top, we're going to have to get used to this. Big games every 3/4 days, you ask the top players and this is what drives them. You want to challenge for the CL and the PL, you have to be at it 100% every game, and come February-May, they come thick and fast.

 

[roseguy64]

I think your missing the point entirely here.
I'm saying we should play the best first eleven we can to get a foothold in the game and then take off players as and when.
The reason being is a)we need to win every game, b)every team is in the same boat in terms of rest days etc c) Chelsea aren't resting players, Leicester aren't resting players, Arsenal aren't resting players.
Play the best team you can to win the game.
Bruno would be at more risk of injury coming on as a sub when we are chasing a win.
We shouldn't be wanting to finish any place other than third now, resting important players en mass sends out a different signal.

Chelsea, Leicester and Arsenal are definitely rotating more than us. Have a look at their starting lineups since the restart.

I'd still start unchanged for this game mind you. But would make some changes for Thursday.

 

[theklr]

Ok this might sound weird, but I’d start with McT and Fred + Bruno for this one.

 

[LoneStar]

Certainly I'll be more than happy with that.

With the form we have, I say go for the kill