Despite the extremely worrying output of their strikers, United are 4/7 favourites with Grosvenor Sport to get the three points they badly need against Southampton, who are 5/1 chances to win at Old Trafford for the first time since 2016. United are in a very strange predicament because the overall feeling around the side is one of negativity despite the fact that they have lost just one of their last 15 matches in all competitions. They are clearly more than capable of blowing Southampton away if they find their finishing boots because the chances are coming and they will do so again against a Saints side that had a tough game at Spurs on Wednesday night. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side will be full of confidence after that hard-fought 3-2 victory in north London but it’s asking a lot for them to back that up just three days later at Old Trafford. Despite the extremely worrying output of their strikers, United are 4/7 favourites with Grosvenor Sport to get the three points they badly need against Southampton, who are 5/1 chances to win at Old Trafford for the first time since 2016.

United are in a very strange predicament because the overall feeling around the side is one of negativity despite the fact that they have lost just one of their last 15 matches in all competitions. They are clearly more than capable of blowing Southampton away if they find their finishing boots because the chances are coming and they will do so again against a Saints side that had a tough game at Spurs on Wednesday night. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side will be full of confidence after that hard-fought 3-2 victory in north London but it’s asking a lot for them to back that up just three days later at Old Trafford.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Manchester United are unbeaten in 11 league meetings since a 1-0 home defeat in January 2016 (W5, D6).
• Southampton lost this fixture 9-0 in February last season and have won just two of their 22 Premier League away games at Old Trafford (D4, L16).
• Manchester United have earned a Premier League record 36 points from losing positions against Southampton.

Manchester United

• The Red Devils are unbeaten in 23 home league matches in February since losing 2-1 to Manchester City in February 2008 (W18, D5).
• They have only scored nine goals in as many league games at Old Trafford. United’s failure to score in four home matches this season is already more than in the entirety of 2020-21.
• United’s solitary defeat in their 11 Premier League fixtures since the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came against Wolves on 3 January (W6, D4).
• Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in five goals in his four league appearances against Southampton, scoring twice and assisting three.
• Cristiano Ronaldo has gone five appearances without a goal in all competitions. His most recent longer run without scoring at club level was seven games from December 2008 to January 2009.

Southampton

• Saints are vying to win consecutive league matches for just the second time this season, while it’s 15 months since they earned three straight victories in all competitions.
• They have only lost once in nine games, including two FA Cup ties, and both scored and conceded in all of those fixtures.
• Southampton’s 12-match run without a clean sheet in the Premier League is currently the longest in the division.
• They have conceded an unrivalled 200 Premier League goals since Ralph Hasenhüttl’s first game in charge in December 2018.
• The only opponents Hasenhüttl has never beaten in the Premier League are Manchester United (D3, L3) and Cardiff City (L2).