6th place Manchester United travel to play 9th place Southampton a week out from their Europa League final against Ajax in Stockholm. It seems like the Red Devils have given up hope of securing a Top 4 finish coming after back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and Tottenham. Mourinho’s main objective is to win the Europa League trophy and to earn a lucrative place in the Champions League group stages. This was the main reason why he fielded a weakened side at Arsenal two rounds ago and at Tottenham on Sunday. The most important thing for Manchester United is to have no injuries and some of their key players to have a proper rest. That means The Special One might follow the trend and rest players when traveling to play the Saints. After 3 defeats in their last 5 Premier League fixtures, Southampton bounced back and won their match 2-1 at Middlesbrough.
Southampton are winless in their last five home EPL matches against the Red Devils, losing four of those by a single goal margin. They have failed to score in their last three home league games but they have never gone four home games without finding the back of the net. Manchester United haven’t lost three consecutive Premier League games since December 2015 with Louis Van Gaal being their manager. United are better away than at Old Trafford winning this season 34 points in 18 matches on the road. They have the 2nd best defense in the away matches conceding just 17 goals this term. If we are talking about their mutual encounters Manchester United won their last two head-to-heads in all competitions. The Saints have failed to score in just one match from their last 11 games against the Red Devils. Whether Manchester United win the Europa League or not the summer is expected to be full of transfers in and out and who knows maybe a new manager because Mourinho’s performance doesn’t seem to be tolerated by the club’s directors.
We don’t think that the best option for betting on this clash is the winners market. We expect an intense match with the bookies suggesting a draw priced @3.3 with the green listed bookmaker Bet365. Mourinho is afraid of injuries ahead of the Europa League final and he is expected to rest a lot of his key players. Southampton are a decent team and given the fact that their last two rounds of fixtures will be at home, they will try to put their best effort and give their fans something to cheer for. The Saints are priced @2.75 with Betfair and for an away win the bookies are offering us @2.8 with Bet Victor.
Best picks for the match:
Both teams to score @1.85 with William Hill
Draw game @3.3 with Bet365
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