Ralf Rangnick is expected a difficult game when Southampton come to Old Trafford on Saturday.
The German said he watched their game against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night, when the Saints came from behind to win 3-2 in dramatic fashion.
From what the interim boss gathered, Ralph Hasenhuttl has built a tactically impressive side that deserve their result midweek, and they are good enough to provide a challenge at the weekend.
Moreover, Southampton recently put an end to Man City’s winning run with a 1-1 draw at St. Mary’s. They won’t be pushovers and have a few players we need to be keeping an eye out for, especially James Ward-Prowse from set-pieces.
Rangnick says the team will prepare for the must-win game today and he is demanding not one strong half, but for his team to dominate for 90 minutes.
“We are fully aware this will be a difficult one,” Rangnick said, as per the Manchester Evening News. “Obviously, I watched the game at Spurs during the week and they really deserved to win. They tactically played at a very high level and this will be a challenge for us, but I’m sure we’ll be up for that challenge.
“We’ll prepare the game today for tomorrow’s game and we have to win the game, that’s for sure. We did well in both first-halves against Middlesbrough and Burnley, but we need top performances from the whole game against Southampton and Brighton.”
Speaking about Hasenhuttl, who he knows well, Rangnick added: “I’ve known [Hasenhuttl] for six or seven years, he has developed in those years, it’s obvious. You can see what he did with Southampton, he also did a great job at Leipzig, finishing second in the first year of the Bundesliga and sixth in the second year. What he’s achieved at Southampton is great, just great. Excellent coach.”
I’m predicting a 2-0 win for United this weekend. Not quite 9-0 like last season, eh?
