Wednesday night's 4-1 Carabao Cup win over Burton Albion took Manchester United's record over the last seven games to six wins and one draw with 23 goals scored against just three conceded. On Saturday they'll be looking to extend that excellent form when they visit Mauricio Pellegrino's inconsistent Southampton side at St Mary's.
The trip south marks the beginning of a seven-game stretch which will see United play six times away from home, including long-haul visits to Moscow, Lisbon and Swansea as well as Southampton. Jose Mourinho is known to be a fan of opportunities to save his players from exertion, so the forthcoming fixtures could really test his team's credentials on multiple fronts.
Utd 5/1 to beat Saints & O3.5 goals
They are in fantastic form though, with nine changes in midweek making little difference to their potency. The win against Burton was the fourth time already this season that United have struck four times and, while Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring form has gained plenty of attention, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial bolstered their goal returns further in the Belgian's absence. Mourinho is far from short of options in attack.
MAN UTD INJURIES
Luke Shaw made his first appearance since a foot ligament injury on Wednesday but is unlikely to start against his former club. Curiously, the left-back's last appearance at St Mary's was in a Southampton shirt in 2014 as injuries have kept him out of United's three previous trips to the south coast since his transfer between the two clubs.
Paul Pogba is an absentee once more due to his hamstring injury, with no date yet set for his return. The midfielder is joined on the sidelines by young defender Axel Tuanzebe, who has been struggling with a back problem in recent weeks.
Marcos Rojo is due out until the end of the year with an ACL knee injury, although he is now back in light training alongside the first team so could step up his rehabilitation in the coming weeks, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic has yet to rejoin the United squad as he makes his way back from similar ACL damage.
MAN UTD SUSPENSIONS
United have yet to rack up any suspensions this term, while Southampton are also free of disciplinary issues.
MAN UTD POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP
Having made nine changes to his starting line-up for Wednesday's Carabao Cup fixture, Jose Mourinho could revert back to a similar line-up to the one which beat Everton 4-0 last weekend.
Lukaku, Eric Bailly, David de Gea and Nemanja Matic are among those who are certain to return, while Antonio Valencia should once again take the captain's armband. The use of Rashford and Juan Mata in consecutive starts could throw their use into question, with Jesse Lingard turning in a great display against Burton to throw his hat in the ring for a first league start.
Martial could be recalled to the league line-up after being given the sponsors' Man of the Match award against Burton, but that would likely mean a return to the substitutes' bench for Rashford who was also a stand-out against the Championship outfit.
SOUTHAMPTON TEAM NEWS
Southampton have been thoroughly inconsistent so far in 2017-18, with Mauricio Pellegrino's arrival at the club having so far failed to draw a run of positive results out of the Saints.
Their inability to beat Swansea on opening display despite dominating was a huge setback and although they have since beaten West Ham and Crystal Palace, a 2-0 home defeat to Watford and a scoreless draw at Huddersfield have undermined their progress. The home loss to Championship side Wolves in the second round of the Carabao Cup did little to boost confidence among the fanbase either.
Last season's revelation in attack Manolo Gabbiadini has yet to really get going in front of goal, and goals from other source have been similarly scarce. The good news at least is that they are not shipping many at the back, with Fraser Forster recording three clean sheets in five games so far. Their defensive achievements have come against the backdrop of the absence of skipper Virgil van Dijk following the saga that was his non-transfer over the summer. He did make his first appearance of the season in last week's 1-0 win at Crystal Palace though, bolstering the back line for the last five minutes in place of Dusan Tadic.
Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg should be back available for Saints after flying home to the Denmark for the birth of his first child and subsequently missing the win at Palace.
BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS
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Manchester United have won 14 of a possible 18 points in their last six Premier League visits to St Mary’s Stadium (W4 D2 L0).
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Southampton have failed to score in eight of their last 10 Premier League matches at St Mary’s Stadium.
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Manchester United have scored more Premier League goals in the 80th minute or later in games (9) than 17 of the 19 other clubs have scored overall in the competition this season.
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Eight different players have found the net in the Premier League for Manchester United in their opening five games this season; more than any other side. At this stage last season, they only had four different goalscorers.
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Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Romelu Lukaku have combined for three goals in the Premier League this season (providing assists for goals) – no other partnership has been as profitable in 2017-18 so far.
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12 of Romelu Lukaku’s last 22 Premier League goals have been scored in the 80th minute or later (55%).
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Lukaku has scored more Premier League goals this season (5) than opponents Southampton (4), despite attempting 47 shots fewer (24 v 71).
TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME
The match is not being televised live in the UK, with all 15:00 BST kick-offs protected as part of the Premier League blackout agreement.
