Manchester United will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they continue their 2020-21 campaign at home to Southampton on Tuesday night.
The Red Devils have only picked up one point from their last two league matches, while Southampton have suffered three straight losses in England's top flight to drop down to 11th position in the table.
Match preview
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Leicester City's surprise 3-1 home defeat to Leeds United on Sunday means that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side will enter Tuesday's match in second position in the table despite dropping more points at Arsenal on Saturday.
United would have been looking to respond to their shock 2-1 home defeat to Sheffield United last Wednesday when they travelled to the Emirates Stadium, but Edinson Cavani missed two big chances as the points were shared in a goalless draw, with the result leaving the Red Devils second, three points off leaders Manchester City, who have a game in hand on their bitter rivals.
Solskjaer's team have not convinced in the big matches this season, but a total of 41 points from 21 matches is an excellent return, and the 20-time English champions are very much in the title argument at this stage, which looked some way off when they were struggling towards the back end of 2020.
United have conceded 27 times in the league this season, though, which is one of the poorer records in the division, while they only have the 11th best home record in the 2020-21 Premier League campaign, picking up just 14 points from 10 matches.
The Red Devils now face two tough home league games against Southampton and Everton in quick succession before taking on West Ham United in the FA Cup, while the Europa League will resume in February, with the club facing a difficult two-legged tie against talented Spanish side Real Sociedad.
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Southampton, meanwhile, will enter Tuesday's contest off the back of a 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, with Ross Barkley scoring the only goal shortly before the interval.
The Saints have not actually won in the league since overcoming Liverpool at the start of January, losing each of their last three to Leicester, Arsenal and Villa, with the disappointing run seeing them drop into 11th position in the table ahead of a difficult trip to Old Trafford.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's side suffered a 3-2 loss to United when the two teams locked horns at St Mary's at the end of November, and Southampton have not actually beaten the Red Devils in the league since January 2016, but they did pick up a point on their last visit to Old Trafford in July 2020.
The Saints have only won three times away from home in the league this season but have suffered just two defeats and will be looking to take advantage of United's recent problems, particularly at home, where they have already lost four times in the Premier League in 2020-21.
Manchester United Premier League form: WWDWLD
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Southampton Premier League form: DDWLLL
Southampton form (all competitions): WLWWLL
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United will again be without the services of out-of-favour pair Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo, and there is a strong chance that the latter could have left the club before Tuesday's contest.
Scott McTominay is also a doubt, with the Scotland international being forced off against Arsenal due to stomach cramp, and it remains to be seen whether the midfielder recovers from the illness in time.
Solskjaer is expected to make changes to his starting XI, with Nemanja Matic and Eric Bailly in line for starts, while Anthony Martial could also return to the centre-forward position.
Martial has only scored two Premier League goals this season, but Cavani again played the full 90 minutes against Arsenal on Saturday and could be rested amid a busy run of matches.
As for Southampton, Mohammed Salisu, Nathan Tella, Michael Obafemi and William Smallbone are still injured, while the match is also expected to come too soon for Jannik Vestergaard and Kyle Walker-Peters.
Head coach Hasenhuttl is likely to stick with the majority of the side that started Saturday's loss to Villa, with Oriol Romeu expected to shake off an injury complaint to feature.
There could be a change in the final third, though, with Che Adams coming in alongside Danny Ings, while there might also be an alteration at right-back with Yan Valery potentially starting.
Theo Walcott is a major doubt with the problem that he picked up against Villa, meaning that Nathan Redmond, who played through the middle last time out, could earn a start in a wide position.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, Matic; Pogba, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial
Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Valery, Bednarek, Stephens, Bertrand; Redmond, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Armstrong; Adams, Ings
We say: Manchester United 2-1 Southampton
This is a very, very tough game for United, who are now facing a fight to remain at the top end of the table. Southampton's recent form has been disappointing, but the Saints are capable of overcoming any side in the league at their best. We are expecting a tight and nervy game at Old Trafford but fancy Solskjaer's side to collect all three points courtesy of a narrow win.
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