Southampton travel to Manchester United tonight aiming to put some recent issues behind them and pick up a morale-boosting win at Old Trafford to get their campaign back on track.
The Saints are enduring their worst run of the season, with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side having lost their three Premier League matches against Leicester City, Arsenal and Aston Villa heading into their clash with Manchester United. That means they are at risk of losing four successive league matches for the first time since April 2018.
Hasenhuttl’s side were always likely to see their results drop off given the number of injury issues they have had over the last few weeks. There were yet more concerns on that front from their defeat against Aston Villa and that has left the Saints looking rather threadbare heading into tonight’s clash with the Red Devils.
It was hoped that the Saints would be able to ease some of their concerns by bringing in a defender on deadline day, but moves for Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Japhet Tanganga ended up falling away despite Southampton’s interest. Having also allowed Jake Vokins and Yan Valery to leave on loan, Hasenhuttl is now really short on numbers at the back.
It will be interesting to see what side he is able to field against the Red Devils. There will be some changes due to injuries, so here is how we think Hasenhuttl could line up for the game against Manchester United, with three changes in personnel and a few positional revamps from the game against Aston Villa…
![Referee Andy Madley speaks to both Southampton Manager Tonda Eckert [GER] and Middlesbrough Manager Kim Hellberg [SWE] during the Southampton v Middlesbrough EFL Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi-Final 2nd Leg match at St Mary's Stadium, Southampton](https://media.readsouthampton.com/readsouthampton/sites/7/2026/09/esme56H7noXX-300x208.webp)
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