Week 4 of PL action kicks off with these two rejuvenated sides looking to extend their short but sweet winning runs. Che Adams will be looking to do the same after netting doubles in both his previous 2 games, and another here would see him complete a hat-trick of braces. Hasenhuttl says he has “a plan” to exploit United’s defensive frailties, this after, ten Hag had jumped to the defence of Lisandro Martinez when criticism came his way, but he repaid him last week with a top-class performance against Liverpool. United are still in the hunt for fresh blood in the transfer market, being linked heavily with another of ten Hag’s former Ajax players Antony and new signing Casemiro looks set to make his debut.
Southampton’s recent PL form is dismal, having only won once in their last 9 games, coming back from a goal down to win 1-2 away at Leicester in week 3. The opening day of the season saw them defeated 4-1 at Spurs, and then they threw away a 2-goal lead at home to Leeds to draw 2-2. The Saint’s most recent match was midweek in an EFL Cup tie away to Cambridge where they rolled out a 0-3 victory.
The Reds will be buoyed by a well-earned 2-1 win at home to Liverpool last time out with goals from Sancho and Rashford. That’s stopped the rot for now, but anything else than a win here will only allow the media snipers to reload and take aim after 7 straight-away defeats conceding in all of them before halftime. Martial likes this fixture having a good record (G5,A2).
Having met 46 times in PL history with Southampton winning only 7 times, 5 of those coming at home, this tends to be a good hunting ground for United with 12 wins here. Everyone remembers the 9-0 thrashing, so it’s no surprise to see United have scored 15 times in the last 5 H2Hs.
Key stats
* United unbeaten in last 14 H2Hs
* 70% BTTS over last 10 H2Hs
* 33 goals in last 8 H2Hs
* 40% draws over last 20 H2Hs
* Martial’s record of (G5, A2)
I’m definitely going to be glued to this one, and I can see goals galore, so a 2-3 away win for United and Martial to score anytime is what I’ll be backing. Goals from set-pieces are always very likely with Ward-Prowse around, so expect defenders to get on the score sheet for Southampton.
