Third Play Fourth As Southampton Host Manchester United

Third place Southampton look to stop the rot following their twin defeats against Manchester City and Arsenal. On Monday (8th December, 20:00), the Saints host Manchester United with their rivals ready to replace the Hampshire side in third position by inflicting on them their third defeat in as many games.

Louis van Gaal`s United have gone haven`t dropped a point in five matches since losing in the Manchester derby against arch rivals City at the Etihad Stadium. Such a run has seen the Reds catapult themselves up the table after a slow start to the season and will look to close the eleven point gap on unbeaten league leaders Chelsea.

Indeed, the Red Devils are the 17/10 favourites (bet365, Betvictor, Bwin, william hill) to come away from the clash with all three points, whilst a home win is available at 5/2 with a trio of bookmakers (betfred, Boylsports, Totesport). Most establishments have a draw down at 9/5.

With 3-0 and 1-0 losses at the hands of reigning Premier League champions Manchester City and Arsenal respectively, Ronald Koeman`s men will be hoping to put aside his team`s 180 minutes without a goal.

Prior to these losses, the Saints had scored in all of their previous five Premier League matches including the 8-0 humiliation of Sunderland at home. The top scorers from these five games were Shane Long, overall leading scorer Graziano Pelle and Victor Wanayama who all scored twice. This in-form triumvirate can be backed at 13/5 (Spreadex), 2/1 (Titanbet) and 23/2 (32red, 888sport, unibet) respectively to add to their tallies at any time on Monday. The home side are still waiting on a number of attacking options who are sidelined with injury. These returns throughout late December and early January will give a new lease of life to the third placed team who are struggling with results and fitness following their initial good start.

Young striker Sam Gallagher will add a new dynamic to the Saints` front line and could be available as early as next week following his knee complaint. Fellow forward Jay Rodriguez has also been sidelined with a knee injury though the England international is not expected to feature until the turn of the new year.

Attack-minded midfielder James Ward-Prowse has been out since the beginning of the season but should have fully recovered from his foot injury before the flurry of games associated with the festive period. Neither Toby Alderweireld (hamstring), Jack Cork (ankle) nor Morgan Schneiderlin (thigh) have return dates.

Van Gaal`s Old Trafford outfit have managed to string together some positive results despite their seemingly never-ending injuries in defensive positions. The run began with a slight 1-0 triumph over Crystal Palace at home thanks to Juan Mata`s effort before the side`s clash with Arsenal finished 2-1 in their favour. Top scorer Wayne Rooney doubled his team`s advantage as Kieran Gibbs netted past his own keeper.

United`s 3-0 disposal of Hull City at home with goals from Rooney, Chris Smalling and Robin van Persie preceded another 2-1 victory, this time against Stoke City at Old Trafford. Maourane Fellaini broke the deadlock before Mata once again grabbed the winner.

Their defence is definitely the Manchester club`s weakness in that they have only kept four clean sheets in all competitions this season. With defenders Daley Blind (knee), Jonny Evans, Phil Jones (both match fitness) and Luke Shaw (ankle) all out, the Saints are available at 1/3 (ladbrokes) to hit the back of the net at any time.

With talismanic playmaker Angel Di Maria also injured, United will have to hope that van Persie, the 11/5 favourite to grab the opener with most bookmakers, will receive an assist from a different red shirt.

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06/12/2014     © Frixo 2024