Manchester United face Southampton this Saturday at 3pm as they hope to retain the top spot in the Premier League. Last weekend's 4-0 win against Everton and Man City's 6-0 win away to Watford means that both Manchester teams share the top spot with an identical record. If the Premier League were to end like this, there would need to be one more Manchester Derby to determine who lifts the 2017/18 Premier League trophy. For this game, a win still wouldn't be enough to secure the top spot for United, but we would need to win by a bigger margin than Man City against Crystal Palace. There is no doubt we have the harder fixture, but hopefully we can stay at the top as we have done since the first game of the season!
On Wednesday night, Manchester Untied were victorious against Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup. A 4-1 victory was enough to send us through to the Round of 16 (4th round) where we will face Swansea City away from home on the 24th of October at 7:45 pm. Wednesday's fixture means that we have had only 2 days to prepare for this game, whilst the hosts will be fresh after having a week to recover. Southampton were knocked out of the Cup in the Second round when they lost 2-0 to Wolves at home. However, in terms of morale, they look to have had a boost after their victory over Palace but they have still been a little goal shy at home for quite a while.
In terms of team news, as expected, Paul Pogba looks like he will still be out for some time trying to recover from a hamstring injury. Luke Shaw will be hoping to make an appearance against his former club after his brief appearance against Burton as a substitute. Also, De Gea, Valencia, Bailly and Matic are likely to start after being rested for Wednesday's game. What could be a big blow for United is that Virgil van Dijk looks set to make his first start for the Saints in 8 months after a serious foot injury and the big transfer saga this summer.
One statistic which is very interesting is that Romelu Lukaku has scored more Premier League goals this season (5) than Southampton (4), despite taking 47 fewer shots. Saints boss, Mauricio Pellegrino has described Manchester United as "the biggest in the world" and is insisting on taking this opportunity and enjoying the game. Southampton have lost 24 times in the Premier League against Manchester United; four more defeats than they have suffered against any other team.
Lets hope that we can continue our exceptional form this season with a win at Southampton, and most importantly, retain the top spot in the league because after all, we are the biggest club in the world!
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