- United hold hefty series edge: 48W-23D-23L
- Saints last beat United in 2003
- Clubs first met in 1897
Southampton and Manchester United both went Dutch with manager hires that are paying off for their clubs, but will the Saints rebound from a rough pair of losses?
Back-to-back losses to Arsenal and Manchester City have Southampton supporters questioning their team’s dream start, and United hopes to turn those worries into full-blown nightmares at St. Mary’s on Monday (Watch live on NBCSN at 3pm ET and online via Live Extra).
There are a pair of reunions on hand, with Manchester United’s Luke Shaw having made his meteoric rise at Southampton, and Red Devils midfielder Juan Mata a former player of Saints boss Ronald Koeman when the two were in La Liga.
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Louis van Gaal’s Red Devils have won four in-a-row since a loss to City in the Manchester Derby last month, although three of those matches were at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, the Saints’ 3-0 loss to Manchester City snapped a sterling run of home form for Southampton.
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What they’re saying
Manchester United’s Juan Mata on his Saints connection – “It’s going to be a special reunion, since Ronald Koeman was my manager in Valencia when I won my first title as a professional footballer: the Copa del Rey. He was very important in my career because he gave me confidence and I played regularly, which is what every young player needs in his early years.”
Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand isn’t worried about United – “Manchester United have picked up some results as of late but at the same time they have been struggling. We have to respect them because they’ve got a lot of good players that can hurt us. But equally, we’re at home, we’ve got the initiative, and we’re going to take the game to them. We’ll have fantastic support from the home fans like always and their away form hasn’t been too great so hopefully we can capitalise and get the three points.
Prediction
Will home field help Saints stop the bleeding? Only a little, as we predict Manchester United picks up a point in a fun-to-watch 2-2 draw.