FA Premier League

Southampton 1:2 Manchester United

St. Mary's

Kick-off
Mon, 8 December 2014 @ 8:00pm GMT
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    I don't see the starting 11 changing all that much. Smalling and Rojo have looked pretty solid with Carrick in front of them, while Valencia is playing well and even Young has been decent (IMO pretty poor passing going forward, but hasn't been caught out much defensively yet which I expected to happen).

    Herrera's place could have been under threat, but once he got his assist against Stoke he played a bit better, so if Di Maria is still out then there isn't too much competition for his place in the side (resting Di Maria until Liverpool is probably a good idea anyway as he went off the boil a bit). Wilson did OK, but Rooney is obviously straight back in the side if fit.

    de Gea
    Smalling Rojo
    Valencia Carrick Young
    Fellaini Herrera
    Mata
    van Persie Rooney
    --
    Lindegaard; Blackett, McNair; Fletcher, Januzaj; Wilson, Falcao​

    Reckon we're in for a tough game still, but my hope is that the stuffing has been knocked out of them after being way too open against City and getting pipped by Arsenal at the death. Would be typical for them to put in one of their better displays and stay above us, but I'm fancying us to nick it by a goal.
     
    Havak said:
    de Gea
    Smalling Rojo
    Valencia Carrick Young
    Fellaini Herrera
    Mata
    van Persie Rooney
    --
    ​
    Click to expand...
    ​
    I would prefer Wilson over Mata. We are away from home and we need some pace in our team to threaten them on the counter attack. Mata is too slow and Rooney can play the No10 position.
     
    When we play both Mata and Herrera alongside players like Carrick in midfield we are definitely too lightweight.
    If Rafael is fit, it maybe wise to play a central midfield of Carrick, Fellaini, Valencia and Herrera inbehind Rooney and RVP, with Wazza naturally dropping deep allowing Fellaini to make strides forwards and we all know Herrera can put in a shfit at No.10. Valencia is pretty decent in central midfield areas if Fellani should be deployed at times to play down the right hand side of midfield as he has done so frequently so far.

    Mata was awesome against Hull and he got a key goal against Stoke, it may sound dropping him, but it's either him or Herrera for me, not both.

    Also Januzaj in a Robben Role up front with RVP?....Hell No, that lad has no penetrating runs to threaten, he's best down the left or at No10, rather have James Wilson excite us again, RVP is a boring mule at moment.
     
    xbS0Pnq.jpg

    The two managers don't really get on, so this game could be a bit of fun.
     
    We will go back to the 4-3-3 but we have a problem as ADM is out. I think we will line up like this:

    De Gea
    Rafael Smalling Rojo Young
    Carrick
    Fellaini Rooney
    Valencia RVP Januzaj
     
    BenRobbins said:
    We will go back to the 4-3-3 but we have a problem as ADM is out. I think we will line up like this:

    De Gea
    Rafael Smalling Rojo Young
    Carrick
    Fellaini Rooney
    Valencia RVP Januzaj
    Click to expand...
    Cant see van gaal dropping both Mata and Herrera
     
    The good news is their form hasn't been great, Tadic and Schneiderlein could be out and with a bit of luck we'll have a few players back fresh

    Looking forward to this - hoping Liverpool/Arsenal slip up first
     
    I think this game is ideally suited for LVG's tactics. He likes it when opposition teams press high so that he can pass around them. He will I think win the tactical battle easily. The question though will be how good Smalling is under high pressure. If he starts hoofing the ball out again then we are done for. Till now not many teams pressed smalling. They let our defenders have the ball and pressed our midfield instead. With Southampton it is a different scenario. LVG might get tactics right but it will depend on how our defenders execute it.
     
    detinUnaM said:
    I think this game is ideally suited for LVG's tactics. He likes it when opposition teams press high so that he can pass around them. He will I think win the tactical battle easily. The question though will be how good Smalling is under high pressure. If he starts hoofing the ball out again then we are done for. Till now not many teams pressed smalling. They let our defenders have the ball and pressed our midfield instead. With Southampton it is a different scenario. LVG might get tactics right but it will depend on how our defenders execute it.
    Click to expand...

    I assume by "until now" you mean in the last couple of games that Smalling has played?

    If so its not that they haven't pressed the defence, it's that Carrick has dropped deep to give options while the two defenders push the ball wide initially and the fullbacks offer an option wide, the LCM and ECM then fall back into shape and there is various "outs" available and with the shape we hold the triangles are there for us to shift it around and start an attack.

    Because of the way we do this it makes it incredibly risky for the opposition to press the defence as it leves them wide open in the middle and that's exactly what LVG wants.
     
    Needs to be at least a score draw. If we win this and follow it up with a strong win over Liverpool, we are most definitely 'back'.
     
    I'm going for

    De Gea
    Rafael Smalling Rojo Young
    Carrick
    Fellaini Herrera
    Mata
    Rooney Wilson
     
    Pexbo said:
    I assume by "until now" you mean in the last couple of games that Smalling has played?

    If so its not that they haven't pressed the defence, it's that Carrick has dropped deep to give options while the two defenders push the ball wide initially and the fullbacks offer an option wide, the LCM and ECM then fall back into shape and there is various "outs" available and with the shape we hold the triangles are there for us to shift it around and start an attack.

    Because of the way we do this it makes it incredibly risky for the opposition to press the defence as it leves them wide open in the middle and that's exactly what LVG wants.
    Click to expand...

    i have noticed this ... when the opponent tries to press we almost go to three at the back. and create space outwide... then when we evade the press we squeeze back the formation and revert back to a back 4 ... makes it easy when u have versatile players that can play in a number of positions .... as LvG always says its no about the formation its about the philosophy
     
    I like that Wilson is getting chances this season. But I don't see why Falcao should be kept on the bench to play another minor role late in the 2nd half.
     
    Pexbo said:
    If so its not that they haven't pressed the defence, it's that

    Because of the way we do this it makes it incredibly risky for the opposition to press the defence as it leves them wide open in the middle and that's exactly what LVG wants.
    Click to expand...

    It's also a fecking relief to see our defenders making that space and not panicking whenever the oppo press. Was honestly one of the most frustrating things about us under Moyes, and it took a little while for us to get rid of that habit at the start of the season.
     
    Mersault said:
    I like that Wilson is getting chances this season. But I don't see why Falcao should be kept on the bench to play another minor role late in the 2nd half.
    Click to expand...

    He is not 100 % match fit according to physios. And could be a vital part for our 2nd half of season.
     
    If we can win this match then it would be really really good

    The win at Arsenal was great but our away record in 2014 is still awful......my predicition 1-1

    Hopefully we're getting back some players like Rooney, Rafael & Evans

    hundred_trillion said:
    I'd be shocked if Southampton don't line up like this:

    Forster
    Clyne - Yoshida - Fonte - Bertrand
    Davis - Wanyama - Ward-Prowse
    Long - Pelle - Mane

    Lack of depth beyond the first 11 starting to show. That is still a good team but Alderweireld and Schneiderlin will be big misses. Yoshida is poor. Southampton will miss the defensive stability provided by the defensive nous of Wanyama and Schneiderlin/Cork. I rate JWP but he is only young and neither he nor Davis are particularly defensively-minded. Wanyama is a beast but we should still have the upper hand in that midfield battle.

    If nobody is back, I'd go with the same team that started vs Stoke.
    Click to expand...
    Ward-Prowse is still injured

     
    Their squad is very thin. Have a feeling they won't survive next two months.
     
    DDG
    Rafa Smalling Rojo Young
    Carrick
    Herrara Fellaini
    Mata
    Rooney RVP​
    Can't see LVG fielding anything else. Southhampton have a good midfield, even with their absentees they've still got Wanyama, which IMO is their best player. Fellaini should take care of him though, allowing Herrera, Carrick, Mata and Rooney their ball playing party in midfield. RVP statue status in our lineup doesn't look like it will be changed. Only player I'm not sure about is Rafa, what's the injury reports on him? If he's fit and been training, he must start. This will be a relatively tough game, but we'll be set up on the counter and seeing as Southhampton are desperate for a result this game, we will have them dealt with like Arsenal. Should end 1-2/3 result for us.
     
    hundred_trillion said:
    Ah shoot. They might put Gardos in at DM then? Hmm, whoever it is, they won't have had a start in the league yet this season. They've only had 15 guys start in the league. 1/3 of those are now injured. Thin squad indeed, we won't get a better shot at them.
    Click to expand...
    The only options are Gardos (Centre-back) or Reed (Central midfielder but 18-years old and has played only one time this season)
     
    Using RAWK logic, we beat Arse 2-1, they beat Southampton 1-0 so we will win this 3-1. I will ignore home advantage, the fact that one team's performance against a team has no bearing on another teams performance against the same team, etc
     
    Papii Grande said:
    When we play both Mata and Herrera alongside players like Carrick in midfield we are definitely too lightweight.
    If Rafael is fit, it maybe wise to play a central midfield of Carrick, Fellaini, Valencia and Herrera inbehind Rooney and RVP, with Wazza naturally dropping deep allowing Fellaini to make strides forwards and we all know Herrera can put in a shfit at No.10. Valencia is pretty decent in central midfield areas if Fellani should be deployed at times to play down the right hand side of midfield as he has done so frequently so far.

    Mata was awesome against Hull and he got a key goal against Stoke, it may sound dropping him, but it's either him or Herrera for me, not both.

    Also Januzaj in a Robben Role up front with RVP?....Hell No, that lad has no penetrating runs to threaten, he's best down the left or at No10, rather have James Wilson excite us again, RVP is a boring mule at moment.
    Click to expand...

    I don't really see why you're mentioning this though? If Mata or Herrera weren't in the side, it'd be in favour of Di Maria... Does he really add that much 'weight and physicality' to our side? I don't think so. Pretty much nonsense IMO. Fellaini is in the side for that, with Carrick over Blind while he's injured (and maybe a lot of the time even when he's back). The only other option is Fletcher if Valencia can't play there, but I'm liking Valencia at Right Back at the moment and continuity in the team will be a good thing after a few wins and two tough games on the bounce.

    Cathy Ferguson said:
    I would prefer Wilson over Mata. We are away from home and we need some pace in our team to threaten them on the counter attack. Mata is too slow and Rooney can play the No10 position.
    Click to expand...

    I think it's unfair to drop Mata after two good games, he seems to be a scapegoat despite getting us some important wins lately, but I do think Wilson did pretty well in his first start so I can see why you'd want that. I just think that LVG sees the team that played against Hull for most of the game and the team that would have started against Stoke (Rooney over Wilson) as his strongest available line-up (I'd argue Blackett should play over Young, but Young saving us a couple of points against Stoke will boost his confidence to play better and string a run of form together). When the likes of Shaw, Rafael, Blind and Di Maria are back, and if Falcao gets fit enough to start and scores some goals, that will give LvG a headache.. But for now, why change it if we're winning?
     
    Monday actually suits me better for being able to pay attention to the match. if it was on BT Sports I'd watch it.
     
    ChaddyP said:
    as LvG always says its no about the formation its about the philosophy
    Click to expand...

    Total football.

    Every player must be
    1. comfortable in possession - high possession percentage
    2. comfortable when passing the ball and
    3. able to position themselves intelligently in positions on the pitch to move the ball into dangerous/attacking positions
    4. be able to play in any position on the pitch (goal keeper excepted).

    To be fair, I can't help but feel that this tactic is being wasted on lesser teams (especially when they park the bus).
    Where it will really show its use, will be against top class teams who attack us hard. I want to see how this works against Bayern, Barca and Real Madrid.
    I love possession football.
     
    Get in about Rooney. Am a lot more confident now, shame about Di maria but hopefully he'll be fit to smash Liverpool. If schneiderlein and tadic are out for them then that is huge for us.
     
    Also with fellaini not training today, hes probably out. Evans I think has a shout to start the game too. Maybe we'll see something like this? Harsh to leave out young but I don't think van Gaal will want to play both Valencia and young at fullback away to Southampton.

    De Gea
    Rafael smalling Evans rojo
    Carrick
    Valencia Herrera Mata
    Rooney van Persie
    ​
     
    Havak said:
    I don't really see why you're mentioning this though? If Mata or Herrera weren't in the side, it'd be in favour of Di Maria... Does he really add that much 'weight and physicality' to our side? I don't think so. Pretty much nonsense IMO. Fellaini is in the side for that, with Carrick over Blind while he's injured (and maybe a lot of the time even when he's back). The only other option is Fletcher if Valencia can't play there, but I'm liking Valencia at Right Back at the moment and continuity in the team will be a good thing after a few wins and two tough games on the bounce.



    I think it's unfair to drop Mata after two good games, he seems to be a scapegoat despite getting us some important wins lately, but I do think Wilson did pretty well in his first start so I can see why you'd want that. I just think that LVG sees the team that played against Hull for most of the game and the team that would have started against Stoke (Rooney over Wilson) as his strongest available line-up (I'd argue Blackett should play over Young, but Young saving us a couple of points against Stoke will boost his confidence to play better and string a run of form together). When the likes of Shaw, Rafael, Blind and Di Maria are back, and if Falcao gets fit enough to start and scores some goals, that will give LvG a headache.. But for now, why change it if we're winning?
    Click to expand...

    I don't think you understand the difference of having certain players over the other.
    Carrick- Fellani starting is established in both of our arguements, But Herrera at Left central midfield and Mata at N0.10 is a completely different threat than Rooney at No.10 and Di Maria at left centre mid. Why? Both have penetrating pace to offer, neither easily lose the ball (physically) as Rooney is gifted with muscular strength and Di Maria with balance, speed and agility. There are definitely other aspects to mention in your closed minded definition of weight and physicality. While Herrera and Mata maybe quicker 1-2 passers and more nimble,light framed and deft it maybe advantageous in some specific games , while it can be problematic for others. For Hull it was fine, but against Stoke, Mata and Herrera spent alot of time being shrugged aside in potentially damaging areas of the field, areas of the field I feel Rooney and Di Maria would have potentially had better results other than be shrugged aside.


    You say Valencia and Fletcher are our only other options over Mata and Herrera, but I was not speaking of one occassion, I said "When they player together", so I believe you jumped the gun with your predesposed defence of Juan Mata.
    No need to defend Juan Mata as he was MOTM IMO with the winner, simply put I think your arguement against mine is pretty much nonsense.
     
    Southampton are seriously weakened with all their injuries in midfield, so I see no reason for us not to really go for this with a strong attacking line-up.

    If Fellaini is indeed injured, and Rafa fit to play:

    DDG
    Rafa Smalling Rojo Young
    Carrick
    Valencia Herrera
    Mata
    Rooney Wilson
    ​
    Give Evans half an hour if it's safe to do so. Maybe Falcao too. Possibly a run-out for one of the youngsters (Januzaj/Pereira/Rothwell) if we're winning.

    As always, for a team whose defence isn't necessarily rock solid the best approach is to keep the ball and keep it in their half as much as possible. If their wings are dangerous, pin them back by letting Rafa and Young attack freely, with Carrick and Valencia dropping back to cover.
     
    Colin129 said:
    Using RAWK logic, we beat Arse 2-1, they beat Southampton 1-0 so we will win this 3-1. I will ignore home advantage, the fact that one team's performance against a team has no bearing on another teams performance against the same team, etc
    Click to expand...
    Using that logic, any team can beat us, including FC United.
     
    Hope to God Fellaini makes it. Can't believe I'm saying that but we have looks far more solid in midfield since he's come in.
     
    If Fellaini is out then we will scrap the diamond as we dont have enough fit CMs to play it.


    DDG
    Rafael Evans Smalling Rojo
    Voung Carrick Herrera Januzaj

    Mata
    Rooney
     
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Robin Van Persie image Robin Van Persie 82% of 810 votes

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Score Predictions

567,59,130
  • Man Utd win
  • Southampton win
  • Draw

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  • 31% Southampton 1:2 Man Utd
  • 16% Southampton 1:3 Man Utd
  • 12% Southampton 0:2 Man Utd
  • 9% Southampton 1:1 Man Utd
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Match Stats

  1. Southampton
  2. Man Utd
Possession
52% 48%
Shots
15 3
Shots on Target
4 2
Corners
5 1
Fouls
12 9

Referee

Kevin Friend

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