[Josh 76]

Like pretty much changing for every match we play though?

Changing the formation and players...yes. But playing from the back against teams that press is suicidal. He never changes that!

 

[bludsucker]

..............VS.............

Date - Sunday, November 29 2020
Kickoff Time - 1400 Hrs GMT
Venue - St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton

League standings and form guide

10. Manchester United: WDLWW
5. Southampton: DWWWD


Previous Meetings

Manchester United 2—2 Southampton

Southampton 1—1 Manchester United

Manchester United 3—2 Southampton

Southampton 2—2 Manchester United

Manchester United 0—0 Southampton


All-Time Record

Manchester United wins: 53
Southampton wins: 25
Draws: 20


Pre-Match Pressers

Ole Gunnar Solskjær




Ralph Hasenhüttl




Team News

Manchester United

.

Southampton

.


Know the opposition

Southampton Football Club (nicknamed The Saints) are a professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire. Southampton were founded in 1885 by members of St Mary's Church of England Young Men's Association. St. Mary's Y.M.A., as they were usually referred to in the local press, played most of their early games on The Common where games were frequently interrupted by pedestrians insistent on exercising their right to roam. More important matches, such as cup games, were played either at the County Cricket Ground in Northlands Road or the Antelope Cricket Ground in St Mary's Road. The club was originally known as St. Mary's Young Men's Association F.C. (usually abbreviated to "St. Mary's Y.M.A.") and then became simply St. Mary's F.C. in 1887-88, before adopting the name Southampton St. Mary's when the club joined the Southern League in 1894.

Southampton play their home games at St. Mary's Stadium, and were one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992. The club has a long-standing sporting rivalry with Portsmouth in a match termed the South Coast Derby or the Hampshire Derby. Southampton has received praise for employing an attractive brand of football under Mauricio Pochettino, and having one of the best youth systems on English soil - which has produced the likes of Alan Shearer, Gareth Bale, Matth Le Tissier, Theo Walcott, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, James Ward-Prowse, Calum Chambers, Adam Lallana over the years — as well as current Manchester United leftback, Luke Shaw.


Referee

.​

Think pochettino is no longer the manager at Southampton.

 

[HowYouDoin]

I’m going for a narrow victory 1-0 or 2-1. we have the better players, just need to turn up which we seem to do away from home. Southampton had a good start but so did Everton.

Its the other way around.
You need Fred and McT against Paris as evidenced twice already but you can and you should play VDB against Southampton. They are not as threatening offensively but their press is second to none.

 

[yamo123x]

One eye will be on Paris game.

Anthony out, Mason in.. rashy central

Mctominay will play with VDB. Fred rested

I think axel will play over lindelof as he is suspended for paris game

 

[Devil may care]

I dont know why people are still thinking of Axel when he is very very raw and lacks maturity and confidence.
Didn't we all see what happened to him tonight. He didn't like being pressed at all. In fact he got nervous and his lack of communication with both Fred and Maguire was so evident.
I am not against him. I just think that he needs time before we start trusting him in difficult high press games

Well the main reason is the Maglof partnership is sluggish and they don’t compliment each other as neither are that mobile or have any recovery pace, which forces us into the negative double pivot pairing. However on this occasion I put Axel in for the reason I put in brackets, he's our only other CB if Lindelöf is out.

 

[Chaky_Best]

We will probably play 532 against PSG (DDG- AWB-Lindelof-Maguire-Tuanzebe-Telles-McTo-Fred-Bruno-Rash-Martial) so we can use the squad just a little bit this weekend, but if we rotate too much we will suffer

My team : (supposing AWB and Lindelof are rested)

---------------------------------------------De Gea-----------------------------------------------
Williams------------------Tuanzebe----------Maguire-------------------------Telles
--------------------------------Matic--------------Van de Beek-----------------------------
Greenwood--------------------------Fernandes--------------------------------Martial
---------------------------------------------Cavani------------------------------------------------

 

[dal]

————————Martial
Rashford ———Bruno————Pogba
——————Fred - McTominay
Telles Maguire Lindelof Wan Bissaka
————————-De Gea

Subs: Greenwood, VDB, Cavani, Matic, Tuanzebe, Williams, Henderson.

Pogba will give us some dynamism and the ability to break there press with the long ball as he can hold it and break well.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Think pochettino is no longer the manager at Southampton.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

One eye will be on Paris game.

Anthony out, Mason in.. rashy central

Mctominay will play with VDB. Fred rested

I think axel will play over lindelof as he is suspended for paris game

Think Ole would rather have his preferred CB partnership if possible.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

This is going to be a tough game. They press like hell and it makes players like Fred nervous and cautious. I'd try to get both Van de Beek and Bruno on the ball as much as possible to set up quick transitions by winning the ball higher up the pitch so as to not invite pressure.

Martial Rashford
Bruno
VdB McTominay
Fred
Telles Maguire Axel AWB
deGea​

 

[Highfather_24]

DDG
AWB
Lindelof/Tuanzebe
Maguire
Telles
McT
VdB
Bruno
Greenwood
Rashford
Martial

 

[bondsname]

I never look forward to playing Southampton, always a game I dread and it's always tough. The players have to be sharp and stubborn this game if we're gonna go home with 3 points.

DDG
AWB Lindelöf Maguire Telles
Fred McTominay
Greenwood Bruno Rashford
Cavani

That's the team I'd pick. It feels bad leaving Martial out but in his current form I don't really trust him, and I think he'll do a better job versus PSG than Southampton.

 

[RedSky]

Oddly I feel somewhat confident about this game. Wasnt that long ago half the forum was shitting themselves about playing Everton and we were comfortable against them. Southampton are due a loss in the league.

 

[Strelok]

Hasenhuttl.

Some thing is really wrong with me. Anytime I see this name I can't help but think of this.

 

[Ali Dia]

I think this is going to be a tough match. We’ve stuttered when it looked like we were going to go on a run and come up with the goods when our backs are against the wall. It’s impossible to call. I’d say high scoring draw. 2-2

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

They press like a mother fecker. Last time we made the mistake of playing out from the back with Maguire, and giving it to Matic & Pogba deep, 3 of the least press resistant players in the world. We can’t do that again. Ole needs to tell Maguire that he’s not as good as he thinks he is & just clear the ball.

DDG
AWB Tuanzebe Maguire Telles
McTominay Fred
James Bruno Rashford
Cavani
​

Yes, James, I know, madness right? Here me out. These lot press more than any team in the league. They play with a high line.. use the 2 in the middle to break up play, Cavani can hold up the ball when needed, the 2 speed merchants can get in behind. Perfect game for Ole-Ball (counter attack & inshallah)

 

[bond19821982]

Feckers will be like mad dogs chasing the pack. Dont play anyone who dwells on the ball. They will play a very high line just play the pacy forwards

 

[saintquin]

This season is churning up so many scores no one could see coming, it's any bodies guess.
I'll just wait to see what score Lawro pick's.

 

[lex talionis]

I'd stick with Donny and let Martial learn from the master how it's done.

De Gea
AWB Maguire Lindelof Telles
Fred McTominay
VdB Fernandez Rashford
Cavani

 

[Alvaro Maestre]

Lets play long ball with Cavani as ST. Kill them later with pace at the 60 minute mark.

 

[Hugh Jass]

They are going to press us like hell.

 

[PoTMS]

Feckers will be like mad dogs chasing the pack. Dont play anyone who dwells on the ball. They will play a very high line just play the pacy forwards

Yep, this is not a game for Pogba, Wan-Bissaka, Matic, Mata, Fred.

Considering our injuries, I would play:

DDG
Fosu-Mensah Tuanzebe Maguire Telles
McTominay Van De Beek
Rashford Bruno Martial
Cavani

Maybe too attacking but Van De Beek needs to play against a team that presses so well.

 

[Marcus]

Its the other way around.
You need Fred and McT against Paris as evidenced twice already but you can and you should play VDB against Southampton. They are not as threatening offensively but their press is second to none.

I agree with this analysis.

 

[Marcus]

Feckers will be like mad dogs chasing the pack. Dont play anyone who dwells on the ball. They will play a very high line just play the pacy forwards

Basically no Pogba or Matic then.

 

[The Boy]

DDG

Williams Tuanzebe Maguire Telles

Matic DvB

Greenwood Bruno Rashford

Cavani
​

That's how I would line up if I was Ole. Presuming AWB and Lindelof are injured, Williams is better on the right than the left and Tuanzebe needs games anyway. Play Matic to support the defence as Soton press and have DvB as an outlet as he looks to me to be one of your best players to play through Soton. Up front hit them with pace from Greenwood and Rashford combined with the trickery and defence pulling movement of Bruno and Cavani.

Then for PSG I'd go

DDG

AWB Lindelof Maguire Telles

Fred McT

Rashford Bruno Martial

Cavani
​

Funny to think that this time last year both of those line ups would have featured Lingard, James and Periera instead of Greenwood, Bruno and DvB. Your options have massively improved even without Pogba.

 

[kouroux]

It will be a tough game and they were really dirty the last time we played them.

That cnut Romeu

 

[RashyForPM]

DDG
AWB Lindelof Maguire Telles
McT Fred
Greenwood Bruno Rashford
Martial

This could be either 0-4 to us or 4-0 to them. Neither would surprise me. Honestly, I don’t think we’ll fare well against their press as we never do when teams really have a go at us, but we’ll see.

Prediction: Saints 2-2 United

 

[Strelok]

Can't wait to see these feckers dominate our 200m pounds midfield with Romeu and Ward Prowse.

Imo Romeu and Ward Prowse are good mid. They form a quite good midfield. I'd take them over Fred and McT in a heart beat. Especially Ward Prowse, I rate the guy very high. If we want to buy him I don't think we can for less than +£60m.

I want to see VDB in the PL too but imo we shouldn't play him this match. Romeu and Ward Prowse are very strong and very combative. Tbh I'd prefer Fred and McT as despite how limited they are, they can match those two in term of physicality and combativeness. VDB is too much of a gamble for my liking. If he chokes against those two we'll lose the midfield battle again. It'll be a difficult match and one mistake would cost us the whole game.

Imo we should start VDB against PSG, then start him in the PL against a weaker mid than Sou. If he'd do well against that then we can start him against stronger ones. I know we want to see him in the PL asap, me too but imo it's quite risky to start him this match. The season is long, with the situation of Pogba he'll get plenty chances in the PL soon.

 

[Godfather]

I fear this game. Since Hasenhüttl took over we are struggling massively against them every time. Hope we show up.

 

[Mcking]

Basically no Pogba or Matic then.

Yes, anyone but them I'd say.

 

[MadDogg]

In terms of midfield we probably have two options to try to combat their press. We can look to fight fire with fire and play Fred-McTominay. Match their workrate and then trust our superior firepower up front to do their job. Or we can try to play through their press in which case we probably need to go Fred-VDB again. Both options have their positives and negatives, both could work or fail. It's a difficult one, but personally I think Ole will probably go for McTominay.

If Lindelof is out it'll be interesting to see who comes into the defence. Normally it would be Tuanzebe but with him suspended for the PSG match we may use this game to play Bailly or TFM if we are intending to play with a back three against PSG. With both Tuanzebe and Shaw out we don't have an obvious third choice (McTominay could be an option but I'd be surprised if we don't use him in midfield) so I'm not sure which would be favoured.

 

[Shimo]

We will probably play 532 against PSG (DDG- AWB-Lindelof-Maguire-Tuanzebe-Telles-McTo-Fred-Bruno-Rash-Martial) so we can use the squad just a little bit this weekend, but if we rotate too much we will suffer

Tuanzebe is suspended for PSG game and we don't have another fit CB for that game.

As to game against Southampton, think it's definitely going to be Matic and possibly McTomminday or Pogba - I'd say probably Pogba if fit. Will need a rested Fred/McTomminay against PSG as I don't see us with option of playing 3-5-2.

If we actually manage to be practical and not play into Southampton's hands by trying to over play from the back, we should be just fine. Start Martial/Cavani/Greenwood and give Rashford a slight extra rest for Wednesday. Should be no reason to worry because we have the quality except for our constant up and down form game to game.

 

[Irrational.]

Tough game. We’ll be lucky to come out of this with a win.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Tough game. We’ll be lucky to come out of this with a win.

But maybe one of those games where due to that realistic expectation, we might just turn in a good performance. The midfield is the key.

We can kill them up front

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Tuanzebe is suspended for PSG game and we don't have another fit CB for that game.

As to game against Southampton, think it's definitely going to be Matic and possibly McTomminday or Pogba - I'd say probably Pogba if fit. Will need a rested Fred/McTomminay against PSG as I don't see us with option of playing 3-5-2.

If we actually manage to be practical and not play into Southampton's hands by trying to over play from the back, we should be just fine. Start Martial/Cavani/Greenwood and give Rashford a slight extra rest for Wednesday. Should be no reason to worry because we have the quality except for our constant up and down form game to game.

3 wins on the bounce though.

 

[Okey]

So hard to predict a result here. What we know for sure is they'll press the feck out of us. Good luck to Ole picking the right team and getting them well up for it. If we beath them, I'd say we're gonna go on a run in the league. Massive game to set our direction for the next few weeks before transfer shenanigans resume.

 

[P-Nut]

Really can't see Cavani starting after playing 90 minutes on Tuesday. Expect Greenwood to come in for him and Martial to go back up top.

McT and Fred will start against PSG so it'll be Donny or Matic for Fred most likely given the minutes he played the other day, and still no word on Pogba being back.

DDG
AWB? Tuanzabe Maguire Telles
McT DvB
Greenwood Bruno Rashford
Martial

 

[OleTheGreat]

I'd like to see us go with this (I'm guessing Lindelöf will be out), I want to see if McTominay will be a more solid defensive compliment to Van de Beek. In truth though I'm expecting the McFred double pivot which should then move Rashford to LW, Martial to #9 and then VdB to RM as Ole surely can't pick Mata again.

I was thinking the exact same line-up. I hope Ole is thinking the same thing. This team will function really well. Mctominay can usher in the defense and the rest can fly with one-touch passes in the offensive half. Cavani and VDB played a really good game against Istanbul and he should picked to start against Southampton. Martial is wonderful dribbling from the left and Rashford can hold his place wide on the right. This team if put in can beat Southampton with ease. They have a higher press which will be negated by VDB and Bruno along with the forward 3 can pass within each other and create every time we have the ball. I hope Ole doesn't change this setup and bring in Pogba, Greenwood and push Martial back in front of goal and push Rashford to the left, which will really be a disappointment before even the game starts. I'm suspecting it because Cavani played the full 90 and so did VDB. He might also be thinking about the PSG game. If he puts the team aforementioned and we get a good result, the momentum will keep the guys moving forward with confidence.

 

[OleTheGreat]

So hard to predict a result here. What we know for sure is they'll press the feck out of us. Good luck to Ole picking the right team and getting them well up for it. If we beath them, I'd say we're gonna go on a run in the league. Massive game to set our direction for the next few weeks before transfer shenanigans resume.

We actually play a good game against sides that press us hard because they will leave a gap behind and if we set up a pass piercing through the midfield, we'll be in.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Good news on Lindelof, he was training today.