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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Dan Brown

Ronaldo and Casemiro in - Man United fans name the line-up they want to see vs Southampton

Manchester United fans are calling for new signing Casemiro and Cristiano Ronaldo to start for Erik ten Hag's side against Southampton this afternoon.

United travel to Saint Mary's Stadium for their fourth match of the new campaign to face a Saints side who they draw with twice last season - with both matches finishing 1-1.

Ten Hag's side come into the clash on the back of an impressive win over rivals Liverpool on Monday night, with Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford both on the scoresheet. Prior to the win over Jurgen Klopp's side, United lost to Brighton and Brentford in their opening two matches.

READ MORE: How Man United should line up vs Southampton

The United boss has plenty of players to choose from, with Casemiro - who arrived at Old Trafford from Real Madrid - poised for his first appearance in a red shirt.

Ronaldo was named among the substitutes against Liverpool, but supporters are hoping that he'll start in attack against Southampton. Here is the starting XI that Manchester Evening News readers want to see deployed:

Goalkeeper - David de Gea

If there is one sure starter in Ten Hag's side at the minute, it's David de Gea. Although the Spaniard was criticised for his personal performance in the defeat to Brentford, he was solid against Jurgen Klopp's side earlier this week and he is the undisputed starter unless something drastic happens.

United are yet to recruit a second-choice goalkeeper following the departure of Dean Henderson to Nottingham Forest this summer, with Tom Heaton the only other senior shot-stopper in the club's ranks.

Defenders - Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Tyrell Malacia

The back four pick themselves after a strong showing against Liverpool. While Mohamed Salah did grab a consolation goal for Liverpool late on in the match, the defence was largely untroubled.

Martinez and Varane will be keen to continue to build on their partnership at centre-back, with Dalot - who did well against the tricky Luis Diaz - and Malacia the first-choice full-backs at the moment.

Midfielders - Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen

Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes have both looked good so far this season, and performed well against Liverpool. Supporters have picked them both to start against Ralph Hasenhuttl's men.

However, there is a change from the midfield who started Monday's game, with fans calling for new signing Casemiro to start in place of Scott McTominay. United confirmed the signing of the defensive midfielder from Real Madrid in a deal worth £70m.

The Brazilian, who signed a four-year contract with the option of a further 12 months at Old Trafford, played over 300 times for Madrid and has been part of five Champions League successes. It remains to be seen if Ten Hag will award a start to the new signing, but supporters certainly want to see it.

Forwards - Jadon Sancho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford

United fans want to see Sancho and Rashford keep their places after the pair both scored against Liverpool, but would like veteran frontman Cristiano Ronaldo to replace Anthony Elanga in attack.

Rashford - who started through the middle on Monday night - looked sharp in the victory and deserved his goal, while Sancho demonstrated why United were so desperate to secure his services from Borussia Dortmund last year.

It could be considered harsh to drop Anthony Elanga for Ronaldo, especially considering the youngster played well against Klopp's side. However, supporters are keen for the Portuguese international to return to the startling line-up after being dropped to the bench against Liverpool.

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