Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Manchester United vs Southampton



After dismantling Fulham 4-1 in the FA Cup, Manchester United will return to Premier League play with a fixture against Southampton on Wednesday.
The Red Devils are currently going through an impressive phase of 13 undefeated domestic games, a run that is stretches back to November 2012.

 Southampton on the other hand, are placed 14th in the league right now and will be playing only their second game under the charge on new manager Mauricio Pochettino, the first one being the 1-1 draw vs. Everton last weekend.
Team News and Starting 11
As per Sam Wells of Goal.com, after being benched for the cup game against Fulham, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Shinji Kagawa, Antonio Valencia and Robin van Persie are all expected to start on Wednesday night.
Rafael Da Silva and Patrice Evra are shoe-ins for the full-backs roles and Tom Cleverley is expected to be paired up alongside Michael Carrick in central midfield. Wayne Rooney, after a sparkling display against the Cottagers will likely spearhead the attack alongside the mercurial van Persie.
Although, Jonny Evans (hamstring) and Ashley Young (knee) are back in contention for a starting 11 role, reports suggest Fergie would rather prefer resting the two.
Moving on, Southampton manager Pochettino will probably line-up the same team that drew against the Toffees in his debut match, however, transfer arrival Vegard Forren and comeback man Adam Lallana (knee injury) could also see some playing time.
Manchester United (4-4-1-1): De Gea; Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Valencia, Cleverley, Carrick, Kagawa; Rooney; Van Persie
Southampton (4-2-3-1): Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Shaw; Schneiderlin, Cork; Puncheon, Ramirez, Guly do Prado; Lambert
Player to Watch Out For: Luka Shaw
A former Manchester United transfer target, 17-year-old Luke Shaw has been earned numerous plaudits for his industrious displays this term.
Coming up against the duo of Valencia and Rafael, Shaw would not only have the onus of shutting down the Red Devils’ attacking prowess in the wings, but also targeting his Brazilian’s counter-part’s backline deficiencies.
Prediction: Manchester United 4-0 Southampton
Slightly bold, but United are currently in red-hot form. Their attackers are scoring for fun and with the trio of Kagawa, Rooney and van Persie expected to start, I see a flairy and goal-packed performance from the Red Devils.
Trivia: Southampton have lost their five Premier League encounters at Old Trafford. Their last point earned at the 'Theatre of Dreams' stretches back to a draw in September 1999, a 3-3 thriller infamous for Massimo Taibi's Matt Le Tissier-induced clanger

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