Manchester United are aiming to return to winning ways in the Premier League this weekend after seeing their long unbeaten run come to an end at Anfield last week.
Erik ten Hag’s men needed to provide the perfect response to the humiliating result at Liverpool and that’s exactly what they did when Real Betis made the trip to Old Trafford earlier this week.
The Reds ran out 4-1 winners in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie, putting United in a great position to secure passage into the next round in six days.
First, they will be desperate to maintain a sizeable gap between themselves and fifth-placed Liverpool, who are currently trailing the Old Trafford club by seven points.
The expectation was that Ten Hag would be making a host of changes after the Liverpool game but against Betis, the Dutchman named an unchanged side.
For the visit of Southampton, it’s unlikely that he will be rotating more than a couple of players. Instead, he could look to name his strongest side and use the return leg against Betis as an opportunity to give fringe players some minutes.
Diogo Dalot could, however, be one of the players to drop out against Southampton. Dalot has struggled to match his form from the first half of the season and Aaron Wan-Bissaka is enjoying, arguably, his best spell at the club.
Further up the pitch, Casemiro is likely to be partnered by Fred again, with Antony, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst forming a four-man frontline.
Predicted Manchester United line-up (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Fred; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst
Wan bisaka is the best compared to dalot…so use bissaka….for know