Manchester United will be back in the Premier League on Sunday as the Red Devils travel to the St. Mary’s Stadium of Southampton. Solskjaer’s men have been fantastic away from home this season and have defeated even the best of the European sides on the road. Thus, Manchester United will be expected to have the edge over Southampton as the Saints will be without Danny Ings.
The Red Devils will be confident from their recent victories against Istanbul Basaksehir and West Brom and will take the confidence to the St. Mary’s. But Solskjaer might not have a few of his star players as Lindelof, Wan-Bissaka and Pogba will all be monitored. But even without them, United have a huge squad and Solskjaer should be able to put out a strong lineup.
Let us now have a look at how Solskjaer might line his Manchester United side up against Southampton in the Premier League.
THE 4-2-3-1
The 4-2-3-1 system looks to almost always work for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as it did against Istanbul Basaksehir and he might use it again in the weekend. The front three of Martial, Rashford and Cavani looked in sync in the game against Basaksehir and might start again in the Premier League game against Southampton. Martial looks very comfortable on the left-wing and Rashford flourished down the right side.
Cavani as the centre-forward offers more options to Manchester United as he is also an aerial threat and provides the midfielders with runs down the channels. Bruno Fernandes, Fred, Telles and Maguire pick themselves in the team and Van de Beek has also done everything right in midweek. Brandon Williams and Axel Tuanzebe might get rare starts in the Premier League with injury concerns to Lindelof and Wan-Bissaka.
It will be foolish of Solskjaer to risk any of his players like Pogba as Lindelof as both the players have been struggling with injuries for a long time.
THE 4-4-2 (DIAMOND)
The 4-4-2 (Diamond) has been very successfully implemented by Solskjaer at Manchester United as the Red Devils have a lot of good midfielders. The midfield four with Matic as the defensive midfielder has a lot of energy with Matic sitting deep and dictating the play as well as screening the defence. Van de Beek was a breath of fresh air in the midfielder in the Champions League and surely deserves a start in the Premier League this weekend.
The two-man striker force at Manchester United should always be Martial and Rashford as they both have a great understanding with each other. This system might be suitable for the game as Southampton play with a flat 4-4-2 with a couple of sitting midfielders at the centre of the park. Solskjaer has a tough choice to make with his centre-back and right-back though with the injury concerns.
THE 4-3-3
The 4-3-3 hasn’t been used at Manchester United by Solskjaer as the Red Devils don’t have a dynamic defensive midfielder. With Martial and Rashford, Solskjaer has always used a midfielder in the front three in the Premier League, mainly Mata. That is because the veteran midfielder gives more options than Greenwood or Dan James.
