Marcus Rashford is set to return to the starting lineup when Manchester United welcome Southampton to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester United will be aiming to notch up their first home win in three games when they play hosts to a relegation threatened Southampton side on Saturday. And, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be bouyed by the return of his first-choice striker ahead of their latest Premier League game.
Heading into Saturday’s game against Southampton, the Manchester United caretaker boss has just seven first-team players unavailable, which still makes for a concerning situation. None of the absentees though, are from the goalkeeping department, meaning David de Gea should retain his place between the sticks.
In defence, fringe players Antonio Valencia (calf), who is reportedly set to leave Manchester United in the summer, and Matteo Darmian (knock) are certain absentees, while Phil Jones could miss out due to illness. Meanwhile, Victor Lindelof could be rested, just like he was against Fulham, with Eric Bailly taking his place.
Partnering Bailly at the heart of the defence, should be Chris Smalling, with Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot being the full-backs, meaning Ashley Young might be held back for the UEFA Champions League tie against PSG. In midfield, Nemanja Matic (muscle) and Ander Herrera (hamstring) continue to remain major absentees.
In Matic’s absence, Scott McTominay has filled in admirably, although Herrera’s void has not quite been filled all that well. As far the game against Southampton is concerned, Andreas Pereira ought to start, with Paul Pogba being an automatic selection.
In attack, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard remain unavailable due to their hamstring complaints. But, the good news is that Marcus Rashford is set to return to the starting lineup after recovering completely from the ankle injury he picked up against Liverpool last week, Solskjaer confirmed during his pre-match press conference while also providing an update on Anthony Martial.
“Rashford is fully fit now. I’ll probably start him. I don’t think there will be many changes. It’s the last session today, but we’re not going to take any risks, so maybe Anthony [Martial], but it might just be even a few more days before he’s ready, so probably the squad will look similar to what it did on Wednesday.”
Judging by Solskjaer’s comments, Martial might not be risked, if he is not fully fit, with the recurrence of Lingard’s injury last weekend being a warning shot for the Manchester United interim boss. Rashford should thus, have Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez as his partners in attack on Saturday.
