Amartya Chowdhury
Manchester United travel south to take on Southampton in the afternoon kick-off on Sunday. Both sides have had unconvincing starts to the campaign. Louis van Gaal would still be smarting from the double league defeats meted out to him by old nemesis Ronald Koeman last season and would be looking to get one over him this time around.
United have managed to grind out 3 wins in the league while losing to Swansea, the first decent team they came across and find themselves third in the table. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Daley Blind, Ander Herrera have all managed to put together consistent displays in the last month or so while the return of David de Gea provides a much-needed stability to the stoic back four, in contrast to the erroneous Sergio Romero. Luke Shaw, along with Chris Smalling, had been United’s best player this season, so his presence would be missed.
Southampton, with 3 draws and a solitary win find themselves at 11th and would be looking to put on positive display. With Jordy Clasie and Ryan Bertrand out through injuries, they know they will have their tasks cut out.
3 Key Battles
Graziano Pelle vs Chris Smalling
Chris Smalling has been arguably United’s best player this season, finally looking to fulfill his potential and being the physically imposing ball player with reading abilities that made Sir Alex bring him from Fulham. Having captained United this season, he will be looking to take on more responsibility and his hands would be full when he comes up against Graziano Pelle. Pelle is a great header of the ball and would be looking to use his physical presence to bring Dusan Tadic and Sadio Mane into the game. A lot will depend on how he is dealt with by Smalling on Sunday.
Jose Fonte vs Wayne Rooney
The United captained is back training after sitting out of the last two matches through injury and is expected to feature at St.Mary’s. Should he start, he will come up against one of the better defenders in the league in his counterpart Jose Fonte. The Saints skipper would be looking to prevent Rooney from exploiting the space around the box and stop him linking up
with Memphis Depay.
Victor Wanyama vs Morgan Schneiderlin
The former partners in crime come up against each for the first time. Schneiderlin got his wish in the summer with his move to old Trafford while unhappy Wanyama stayed on trying to push through a move to Tottenham. The two were instrumental in last season’s wins against United home and away and now lock horns. The battle between these two would outline which dictates the tempo and takes the upper hand. Schneiderlin’s physical presence and passing abilities would be key and against Wanyama, he will have his biggest test yet.
