Manchester United will be going in search of a second successive victory when they welcome Southampton to Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
United, who are unbeaten in all of their last 14 meetings with the Saints, will be looking to build on Thursday night's 4-1 win over Real Betis in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 showdown. Victory over Betis secured an immediate return to winning ways for the Reds, just four days after their 7-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.
Thursday night's triumph means that United will now be looking to get back to winning ways in the league and tighten their grip on a top-four berth ahead of a three-week period without a league fixture. After facing Southampton, the Reds will not play in the Premier League again until April 2.
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After facing the Saints, United face back-to-back cup assignments ahead of the international break, including the second leg of their tussle with Betis in Spain on Thursday. Considering the Reds will take a 4-1 lead to Seville, manager Erik ten Hag is more likely to make changes in Spain than he will against Southampton, as he aims to lead his side back to winning ways domestically.
David de Gea, who has started every Premier League game since the start of last season, is expected to continue in goal. He has racked up 10 clean sheets in the league this term and will be keen to add to his tally against Ruben Selles' troops, particularly after conceding seven at Anfield.
Ahead of the Spaniard, Ten Hag could finally decide to make a change at right-back and hand a first start to Aaron Wan-Bissaka since the 2-1 win over Barcelona last month. He has played second fiddle to Diogo Dalot recently, but stepped off the bench at half-time against Betis and made a clear impact, meaning he could be recalled.
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez are poised to continue in the heart of the defence and be flanked by Luke Shaw at left-back. The latter recovered from his difficult afternoon at Anfield to claim an assist against Betis.
In midfield, United are likely to stick with the same trio that started in midweek, meaning Casemiro will be joined by fellow countryman Fred and Bruno Fernandes. The latter, after facing a wave of criticism in the aftermath of his performance against Liverpool, returned to his natural No.10 position against Betis and was described as being the "the best player on the pitch" by Ten Hag.
Fernandes started on the left-wing against Liverpool, in a decision that backfired miserably. Against Betis, however, he was superb, scoring one goal, setting one up and playing a role hand in another.
Up front, Wout Weghorst, following a run of 15 consecutive starts, deserves to earn his 16th after scoring his first Old Trafford goal in midweek. He should be flanked by Antony and Marcus Rashford on either side of him in the front-three.
Predicted United line-up vs Southampton: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Fred, Fernandes; Antony, Weghorst, Rashford.
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