7M INSIGHT - Southampton vs Manchester United

After brushing aside Burton Albion 4-1 in the League Cup, Manchester United will travel to St. Mary's Stadium to take on Southampton for their EPL fixture. Jose Mourinho's men will hope to extend their unbeaten start in this new campaign, while the Saints also will not surrender without a fight.

Southampton finished 8th in the table last season, and they do not have heavy investment in this summer transfer window. The club's board seems to be content with their mid-table position. After 5 matchweeks in the new term, the Saints have won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1, and they sit 9th with 8 points. Although Southampton have done well so far in defensive end, with 3 clean sheets in their opening 5 league matches, Mauricio Pellegrino's team fail to put up ideal performance at the front. Now they have only netted for 4 times, including a 3-2 win over 10-man West Ham. With such poor offensive display, the Saints may find it hard to grab points from the rampant Manchester United.

Manchester United failed to complete top 4 finish in the last term, but they have lifted the UEL trophy, thus grabbing a spot in UCL this season. They have a spending spree this summer, bringing in Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and Victor Lindelof, and re-signing a new contract with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Their investment does work as the Red Devils have a perfect start in this new campaign, winning 6 of their opening 7 competitive games. They look to be flying in Mourinho's 2nd season in charge. Now they are the joint leaders with arch-rivals Manchester City. Although they have a League Cup game in mid-week, the Red Devils seem not to be affected as Mourinho has rotated the squad in that clash. They are aimed at an away win this time.

Key players

Southampton's wantaway center back Virgil van Dijk is ready to return to the starting XI for the first time this season, after playing with the reserves in recent weeks. His return is a morale-booster to the whole team.

In the Saints' lackluster attacking line, 32-year-old captain Steven Davis is one of the few bright spots. The Northern Irish is still the core player this season. Now he has 1 goal to his name, and can complete 1.6 key passes per game on average. He is poised to put the ball on a plate for the Italian striker Manolo Gabbiadini.

As for the Red Devils, although Paul Pogba will remain on the sidelines for reportedly 3 months, Mourinho still has many options in the midfield. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is fully rejuvenated in his 2nd year in United's shirt. Now he has already bagged 1 goal and 5 assists, with 3.4 key passes per match and a pass completion of 86.8%. The Armenian is truly the playmaker of Mourinho's team.

Romelu Lukaku does not take much time to adapt to United's system. The Belgian striker has hit 5 in his 5 appearances for the Red Devils in EPL. He is expected to be back in action in this game, after being rested in Wednesday's League Cup fixture.

Tips

Macauslot offer Manchester United with an opening line of -0.75 at near long odds, and the odds almost remain at initial level afterwards. As for the 1×2 Odds, the Red Devils are William Hill's 1.73 favorites to win this game, while Southampton are priced at lengthy 4.8 to come out on top. So Mourinho's side are absolutely the favorites in this match.

In conclusion, the Saints are unlikely to stop ruthless Manchester United this time at St. Mary's Stadium. We are going for a United win as well as in AH.

(7M / Oliver)