“Very different test…” – Chris Sutton makes clear score prediction for Manchester United vs Southampton

Manchester United return to Premier League action this week against Southampton following their FA Cup triumph against Arsenal.

Ruben Amorim’s side have played very well in their last two games against Liverpool and Arsenal, showcasing the exact kind of mentality needed in every game.

However, United fans will be waiting to see if the same kind of performance can be replicated against Southampton, who currently sit bottom of the Premier League.

The Saints have new manager Ivan Jurić in charge after recently sacking Russell Martin and are coming off the back of an impressive 3-0 win against Swansea City in the FA Cup.

Still, this should be a routine win for a United side that are gaining confidence, but a game against Southampton is much different to Liverpool or Arsenal.

The Reds are sitting 13th in the league table and need to start getting a run of wins to climb towards the teams above them.

Sutton predicts United vs Southampton

Chris Sutton has predicted the outcome of United’s clash against Southampton on his BBC column this week.

The former Premier League striker also believes that this will be a very different test to United’s recent games, but suggests that they will narrowly win the contest 2-0.

“I have a lot of admiration for Manchester United’s performance in their FA Cup win against Arsenal, especially to grind it out with 10 men for an hour after Diogo Dalot was sent off,” said Sutton.

“But these next three games, at home against Southampton, Brighton and then Rangers, are a very different test for them compared to their trips to the Emirates Stadium and Anfield in the past week.

“I don’t want to devalue what United did against Arsenal or Liverpool but they were games where the expectation was not on them to get results.

“Saints may come into this game with a bit of confidence after beating Championship side Swansea in the FA Cup, ending a run of 12 games without a victory that went back to the start of November.

“I still think United will find a way to win, but I am not so sure it will be a completely routine one.”

Amorim has good opportunity to build United momentum

After losing four matches in a row, every United fan was dreading back-to-back away games against Liverpool and Arsenal, but the team couldn’t have impressed much more than they did.

In both fixtures Amorim’s side showed exactly what is needed for the team to improve and suddenly there is momentum heading into the upcoming fixtures.

Now, there appears to be some favourable ties for the Reds, with their next five games being against Southampton, Brighton, Rangers, Fulham and FCSB.

This is the perfect opportunity for United to build some proper momentum and also prove that they can also turn up against the so-called lesser sides as well as in the big games.

It does feel like Amorim will be super focused on the team not losing the drive he’s seen in the last week. He looked devastated after the Liverpool game because his side did not show the same passion and determination against Newcastle United in the game beforehand.

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United might have turned a corner, but there will still certainly be more problems that arise, and we need to see that the team can start dealing with such setbacks in a better way than they have done previously.

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