EPL 2019/20: Manchester United vs Southampton – tactical analysis

With Manchester City’s Champions League ban having been controversially overturned earlier in the day, the race for the top four spots in the Premier League was all the more interesting. Chelsea and Leicester had both suffered embarrassing defeats to Sheffield United and Bournemouth respectively and a win for Manchester United would see them leapfrog to third in the table. They came up against a Southampton side who were eyeing a place in the top half of the table and had managed to beat Manchester City just a week before. Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side were playing some good football and had been much better since that humiliating loss to Leicester City earlier in the season. In this tactical analysis, we will look at the tactics of both Manchester United and Southampton in their fixture.

Lineups

In the first part of our analysis, we will look at the lineups of both sides. Ole Gunnar Solskjær yet again named an unchanged side, meaning it was the fifth straight game that he had done so. Bruno Fernandes had become a crucial part of the midfield with his partnership with Paul Pogba blossoming. The front three of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood were in full flow and had started to fire on all cylinders. The defence had been good despite looking shaky in a few games.

Southampton were also unchanged, with Danny Ings leading the attack alongside Che Adams. Ings had 19 league goals already and was chasing the golden boot while Adams had scored the winning goal against Manchester City with an incredible strike from just beyond the half-line. Nathan Redmond and Stuart Armstrong had been crucial down the wing for the Saints and captain James Ward-Prowse started in midfield as well. Oriol Romeu had found his way back into the starting lineup over the recent weeks and while the Southampton attack had looked good, the defence had still been inconsistent.

Southampton play with unconventional wingers