Manchester United will resume its chase for a top-four finish and a UEFA Champions League berth when it hosts a dangerous Southampton side on Saturday morning, knowing a win would momentarily vault the Red Devils into fourth place.
Southampton (10th, 28 points) is coming off one of its best performances of the season in a 3-2 road win over Tottenham on Wednesday and promises to pose a serious challenge with its hard-working press. Young forward Armando Broja had a goal in that match and will look to continue a productive run of four goals in his last nine league matches.
Man United (sixth, 39 points) will have an extra day of rest after being held to a 1-1 draw by last-place Burnley on Tuesday. It finds itself in a scrap with the likes of West Ham (40 points), Arsenal (39 points) and Tottenham (36 points) in the chase for the final Champions League berth that comes with a fourth-place finish.
Sporting News will be following the match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.
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| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| Man United | 1 | — | — |
| Southampton | 0 | — | — |
Goals:
MUN – Jadon Sancho (Rashford, Fernandes) – 22nd min.
(All times Eastern)
22nd min.: GOAL Man United. Another sensational Man United counter. A beautiful Bruno Fernandes ball down the right launches Marcus Rashford, who continued his run into the box and fed Sancho at the far post for the easy finish. There are more goals in this one.
16th min.: YELLOW card for Marcus Rashford for a hard, sliding tackle on Romain Perraud. The two are battling down the flank (Rashford is the right winger so far vs. Southampton’s left back).
10th min.: After a chance for Southampton (Che Adams couldn’t get his header around the ball), Man United goes on the counter but Jadon Sancho doesn’t feed Ronaldo and the Portuguese star did not appreciate it as the chance is wasted. Energetic start by both sides at Old Trafford.
7th min.: Ronaldo chance! Sancho sends him through and Ronaldo beat the ‘keeper, but he was casual with his shot on goal and Southampton’s Romain Perraud and Mohammed Salisu clear off the line. The Ronaldo goal drought continues.
1st min.: We’re off at Old Trafford and it’s Southampton kicking off the match.
6:44 a.m.: Here’s the reason for Edinson Cavani’s absence with Cristiano Ronaldo taking his place in the starting lineup:
Teams for this afternoon. Cavani not involved as he’s got a ‘groin problem.’ pic.twitter.com/gMjZaje7Ri
— Charlotte Duncker (@CharDuncker) February 12, 2022
Ralf Rangnick makes one change in the starting lineup that faced Burnley with Cristiano Ronaldo getting the start over Edinson Cavani (groin) at center forward. Fred is unavailable after a positive COVID test, and Eric Bailly (ankle) and Nemanja Matic (shin) are out injured. Alex Telles is still not ready to start after a bout with COVID-19, but he is available off the bench.
Manchester United starting lineup (4-2-3-1, left to right): 1-David De Gea (GK) — 23-Luke Shaw, 5-Harry Maguire (captain), 19-Raphael Varane, 20-Diogo Dalot — 39-Scott McTominay, 6-Paul Pogba — 25-Jadon Sancho, 18-Bruno Fernandes, 10-Marcus Rashford — 7-Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United subs (9): 26-Dean Henderson (GK), 2-Victor Lindelof, 27-Alex Telles, 29-Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 4-Phil Jones, 14-Jesse Lingard, 46-Hannibal Mejbri, 8-Juan Mata, 36-Anthony Elanga
No starting lineup tweaks are necessary for Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, who brings back the same XI that helped it to a 3-2 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday. Tino Livramento is available on the bench after a recent knee issue. The right back has not featured in the last six matches.
Southampton starting lineup (4-4-2, left to right): 44-Fraser Forster (GK) — 15-Romain Perraud, 22-Mohammed Salisu, 35-Jan Bednarek, 2-Kyle Walker-Peters — 24-Mohamed Elyounoussi, 6-Oriol Romeu, 8-James Ward-Prowse (captain), 17-Stuart Armstrong — 10-Che Adams, 18-Armando Broja
Southampton subs (9): 13-Willy Caballero (GK), 21-Tino Livramento, 43-Yan Valery, 5-Jack Stephens, 19-Moussa Djenepo, 20-Will Smallbone, 27-Ibrahima Diallo, 7-Shane Long, 9-Adam Armstrong
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Saturday morning’s match is exclusively available on NBC’s streaming platform, Peacock, in the United States.
The Premier League in Canada is available exclusively live and on demand via DAZN.
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