Manchester United exacted some revenge for last season’s 2-1 loss at the hands of Bournemouth by beating the Cherries, 3-1, at the Vitality Stadium to get their season off to a winning start. Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the winning goals for the Red Devils who gave manager Jose Mourinho his seventh Premier League opening-day fixture victory.
Apart from Ibrahimovic who has now scored on his first league starts in England, Italy, Spain and France, defender Eric Bailly also excelled in his debut for Manchester United. Heproduced a solid performance at the center of the United defence as the Cherries were restricted to just three shots on target.
United will look to sustain the momentum of that huge win when they take on Southampton this coming Friday. The match will mark the Special One’s first home league game in charge of the Red Devils, as well as the much-anticipated return of France international Paul Pogba. Much is expected from the 23-year-old who cost United a world-record £89 million this past summer. His arrival will help boost a United attack that scored just 49 goals last campaign.
Southampton’s Premier League campaign got off to a rocky start as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Watford on Saturday. Nathan Redmond spared the Saints’ blushes as his debut goal helped rescue a point for Southampton. Redmond, who scored 11 goals in 112 appearances for Norwich City, was signed by Southampton this past summer for £11 million.
He can’t do it all alone, though, and he needs the Southampton defense to step up their play against the mighty Red Devils. The Saints have now conceded in 13 consecutive Premier League games, their longest run without a clean sheet since November 2012. They will take comfort in the fact, however, that they have shut out United in their last two league meetings at Old Trafford. The Saints won both of those games by a score of 1-0.
For the Saints to shock the world and replicate that feat once again, they will need to bring the same commitment in midfield that they showed against Watford in their Premier League opener. The Saints dominated possession in that match, controlling 64 percent of the ball against the Hornets. That enabled Southampton to launch 24 shots against Watford, six of which were on target.
Writer’s Prediction
Manchester United (-275) cruise past Southampton, 2-0.
