Recent Form
A draw with Burnley on Tuesday meant that Ralf Rangnick has had two disappointing results in a row, the other their loss on penalties to Middlesborough in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Rangnick looks like he may be out of his depth which would make a lot of sense considering he has only managed 88 matches in the last ten years (RB Leipzig), this is also highlighted by Edinson Cavani starting over Cristiano Ronaldo because he wanted a striker to “press more”.
It’s always a huge risk to leave a player as prolific as Ronaldo out of the starting lineup, and with that risk not paying off in midweek we’d expect the Portuguese star to win his place back for this clash.
Southampton put on a great show against Tottenham in their mid-week Premier League (PL) fixture. The Saints came back to equalise from behind on two occasions and then went ahead for the first time in the game when Che Adams scored in the 82nd minute as the visitors held on for a 3-2 victory.
While the south-coast side were impressive, especially after the break, questions must be asked of Tottenham’s defence, though in saying that it’s not as though the Red Devils have been especially solid at the back this year.
Indeed, the hosts have kept just five clean sheets from their last 18 matches across all competitions now, and while four of them did come in domestic fixtures, three were against bottom half outfits, and Southampton are now operating in the top half after their midweek win against Spurs.
Over 2.5 Goals
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have now scored in nine successive matches across all competitions, while even more impressively, they’ve netted at least three goals in half of their most recent eight.
Armando Broja looks like a real handful for defenders, and with United not looking entirely compact under current management, we’d expect the Armenian to cause some troubles.
While United haven’t been in the best form, it’s also not been horrendous as they’ve lost just once since mid-November across all competitions, while they’re on a 12-match unbeaten run against Southampton dating back to 2016 and while we can’t back the visitors on that basis, half of those 12 meetings have ended all-square, and five of the last seven have seen over 2.5 goals land.
United ran out 9-0 winners last season, though they’re currently showing no such capabilities of doing so again, and we’re inclined to believe this one will be a more close fought contest, and the over 2.5 goals bet poses good value for us.
PREDICTION:
OVER 2.5 GOALS
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