[TrustInOle]

Can't watch it under the table?
Hate when that happens though.
Delayed gratification.
Or heartbreak

I mean, I could, like now haha, but then I would be watching it in parts and I can't really get into that need the full game! I shall be on here the minute it is over, acting like it just has

 

[TrustInOle]

Indeed, our defense is on the money!!

 

[TheNewEra]

Going with a slender 2-0 win.

Rashford will get back on the scoresheet and Martial will be the MOTM.

 

[Siorac]

Not too confident about this game. On the one hand I say play the same team on the other they didn't look fresh against Villa so we might need to rotate.

Yeah it's exactly the sort of game where we tend to drop points in the post-Fergie era. Fans are optimistic, team looks to be in form, rivals lost - time to put in an insipid, toothless performance in an agonising 1-0 defeat.

Hopefully it won't be the case this time.

 

[Godfather]

Could do with Fred today instead of Matic imo. They will press the hell out of us which could mean problems for Matic.

 

[saintquin]

I'm looking forward to the game.
I do like the way Saints press and I think we are quite good at it but, I'd also say that United's way of playing is possibly the best way of playing against it.
We will have to defend with the commitment we did against City (and hope one of your players don't tread on one of ours shins in the box )!

 

[Smithy89]

Toughest game since restart, Southampton have one of the better away records in the league. Hopefully minimal or no changes from United.

 

[Mihai]

Chelsea beat Palace 3-2 mate what you talking about?

We gained points on them when they lost to West Ham & we beat Bournemouth.

Yeah, for some reason i had in mind that they lost to CP instead of WH.

The point still stands regarding Leicester though.

 

[shabadu84]

My brain is ready for us to feck it up and drop points today but my heart is not

 

[SirAnderson]

I get a feeling matic will be sitting this one out

This is my only challenge picking a team for tonight.
Cause only Ole will know how prepared Matic is for this game and whether or not he will need a rest this match.

 

[SirAnderson]

I mean, I could, like now haha, but then I would be watching it in parts and I can't really get into that need the full game! I shall be on here the minute it is over, acting like it just has

I will be on the look out for your delayed comments and act with you, just to make it feel more genuine

 

[TrustInOle]

I will be on the look out for your delayed comments and act with you, just to make it feel more genuine

Appreciated brother!

 

[SirAnderson]

Guys, Bournemouth gave us our score.
4-1.
It is written.

 

[Ali Dia]

Lots of nervous posts today! I suppose it’s because we’ve not had anything important to play for in a while and we haven’t really capitalised on our top 4 rivals dropping points this season until after the break. This is the new look Pogba and Bruno Utd though and if you have a go we will score against you. If you sit back we will find a way through. We should have too much for them in the end especially at Old Trafford. 3-1 and on we go. while we are at home and with freshness in mind I would be tempted to start rotating the team a little bit now though. If things aren’t going well enough switch it up at 60mins. I’d say matic will need resting most of all tonight.

 

[Strelok]

Yep. First time this season we play a south coast team who wear red and white at old Trafford.

Yep. First real red and white test for Ole.

 

[Foxbatt]

This is a must win game for us. Every game is.

 

[SirAnderson]

Hope we get off to a fast paced start and not like at Villa.

 

[ArjenIsM3]

Yeah it's exactly the sort of game where we tend to drop points in the post-Fergie era. Fans are optimistic, team looks to be in form, rivals lost - time to put in an insipid, toothless performance in an agonising 1-0 defeat.

Hopefully it won't be the case this time.

Yeah it's not like the warning signs aren't there. Our energy levels looked down against Villa and our passing looked sloppier to me. Thing is, except for bringing on Fred for Matic I don't know what else Ole could do without there being too much of a drop off in quality. That's the issue with our squad depth.

 

[KennyBurner]

Did Ole confirm in the press conference whether Bruno will be taken the penalty we get today?

 

[Offside]

Southampton have more points on the road than we do!

 

[CG1010]

With an off chance that our front 5 aren't firing today, we don't have much options to change that inspire me with any confidence, perhaps with the exception of Ighalo.. I really hope it doesn't come to that!

 

[joedirt87]

Need Lindelof to be solid tonight. Cost us points back in August with his physical weakness. speaking of, what a difference in the lineup between that game and tonight. we started Ashley Young, Andreas Pereira, and Juan Mata.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

I am having vivid flashbacks to the days of LvG and Jose, where teams above us would falter, and then we would pretty much always fail to capitalise. I think I'd somehow be more confident if Chelsea and Leicester had won at the weekend.

Should be confident given our form, but not.

I hope we at least come flying out of the gates. The sluggish starts against Villa and Bournemouth were worrisome. Ings is in good scoring form and only need a sniff. Hopefully Greenwood leathers in an early brace and puts us all (me) at ease.

 

[sewey89]

Southampton are 9/1 if anyone really doesn't fancy us..

 

[Mihai]

Southampton have more points on the road than we do!

That might be because we play on a football pitch and not on the road.

 

[Massive Spanner]

Six years of disappointment has left me very nervous about this game. Seems the exact sort of one we'd have completely failed to capitalize on in that period. Let's hope things are different, now.

 

[Brightonian]

That's a very impressive stat!

The downside to this is that our defenders have just let strikers run at them without effectively closing them down on a couple of occasions.

Spurs and Bournemouth both scored goals from someone running at Maguire, and Villa's best chance came when Trezeguet was allowed to run 20 yards unchecked to the edge of our box.

Ings does enjoy a run and shot from the edge of the box, so we'll have to watch for that tonight.

I'm telling you, Fred is the answer to that. Matic is a superior controller but if he doesn't have fresh legs, he can't shield the defence from running attackers. Fred may not be as good in a number of ways but he knows how to scrap so that the opposition never get clean runs or clear chances from midfield.

 

[Santos J]

Why leave out the two weeks we won?
#19 Leicester lost to Liverpool 0-4, Chelsea lost 0-2 to Southampton, and United won 4-1 against Newcastle
#32 Leicester lost to Everton 2-1 and Chelsea lost 3-2 to Westham while United won 0-3 against Brighton.
Meaningless stat.

Because they dropped points after we played, the tweets is when we're the last to play.

 

[peridigm]

Southampton have more points on the road than we do!

They've won at Brighton, Shefield, Villa, Chelsea, Leicester, Palace, Norwich, and Watford and drawn at Wolves, Arsenal, and Everton.
Not worried as we're in great form. I went 3-0 but think it will be 2-0 or 2-1.

 

[NinjaZombie]

This is it. Now we'll see how the squad perform under heightened expectations.

If we're going to go back to challenging for titles, there are going to be more of these types of expectations.

 

[Eckers99]

I get a feeling matic will be sitting this one out

Sensible considering the accumulation of games and the way Southampton press. Fred would be more comfortable with that.

 

[VP89]

I have an optimistic feeling we'l beat them comfortably like the others. Southampton will be a sterner test but I have always get the feeling their heads can go down from an early goal.

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

I can see Mctominay starting over Matic

 

[RedPed]

This is a must win game for us. Every game is.

Actually the way the fixtures have landed with the top 7 facing a significant amount of games against each other over the last 3 games, we could actually draw against Southampton and Leicester and still finish 3rd. Of course that would depend on how results pan out but it is completely feasible.

I'd rather take the win though but so long as we don't lose tonight, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

 

[Gator Nate]

Form-wise, in the last 5 games, yes, So'ton beat City, but they lost to Arsenal and drew Everton. They beat Norwich and Watford.

Ole's United are not Moyes', LvG's, or The Recycled One's United. He's instilling a different mentality, the machine is really starting to hum, and these guys are having fun. And he's just getting started.

I get the moaning a little bit, but seriously, the variables are all different now.

 

[MacabbiUnited]

This reminds of the West Ham game in LVG's second season where Martial scored a brace and we had to win to have our faith in our hands, and we lost 3-2 after leading and ended up 5th

Hopefully this team is more mature and can overcome the natural nerves that accompany games of such meaning.

 

[youngrell]

Why leave out the two weeks we won?
#19 Leicester lost to Liverpool 0-4, Chelsea lost 0-2 to Southampton, and United won 4-1 against Newcastle
#32 Leicester lost to Everton 2-1 and Chelsea lost 3-2 to Westham while United won 0-3 against Brighton.
Meaningless stat.

Exactly. The very fact that we have closed the gap to the point we can leapfrog both this evening is proof that we have indeed capitalised on them dropping points. It would literally be impossible otherwise.

 

[JinnerJamie]

This reminds of the West Ham game in LVG's second season where Martial scored a brace and we had to win to have our faith in our hands, and we lost 3-2 after leading and ended up 5th

Hopefully this team is more mature and can overcome the natural nerves that accompany games of such meaning.

Nah we were never gonna win that game, West Ham's final ever game at Upton Park. The bubble blowers were destined to win that game, though the implications for us in the table are the same now as they were then.

Good thing is we don't need a 19 goal haul to finish above the this time.

 

[sammsky1]

Given that Southampton are likely to deploy a high press, does it make sense to swap Williams for Shaw and Fred for Matic, as strategic choices?

 

[vodrake]

This reminds of the West Ham game in LVG's second season where Martial scored a brace and we had to win to have our faith in our hands, and we lost 3-2 after leading and ended up 5th

Hopefully this team is more mature and can overcome the natural nerves that accompany games of such meaning.

The context is a bit different to that match. West Ham were playing their final ever match at Upton Park, their fans had just smashed up our team bus with the players inside it and created an atmosphere was completely against us. The nerves now should be nowhere near the same, though the importance of the match for us is the same