Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made just one change from Manchester United’s draw at Arsenal for the visit tonight of Southampton.
The boss has brought Mason Greenwood into his starting XI for the Premier League match against the Saints. That means Paul Pogba has been given a break and is on the bench as he makes way for the 19-year-old forward .
Greenwood came on for Marcus Rashford in North London in the 80th minute of the stalemate.
It’s the first match Pogba has not started in the Premier League since the Boxing Day 2-2 draw at Leicester City.
“It’s a little bit of rotation and the accumulation of games. Paul played nine games in a month which is quite a lot for a big man,”
Ole told MUTV. “We have a strong squad and I feel it’s a chance to give him a rest.”
Meanwhile, the manager believes Greenwood is raring to go again from the start.
“Mason is ready to kick on now. He’s played the three previous ones before Arsenal and now he has had a little bit of rest. He came on again and looked sharped again. I'm looking forward to seeing him,”
added Solskjaer.
The manager then told BT: “Mason is having a season of almosts. He’s had a few near-chances and we’re just waiting for him to kick on. We see it every day in training, so hopefully he can start today.
“There was something that Edinson [Cavani] saw in the video yesterday that he wanted to show to Mason, the day before. He wanted to speak to him and Edinson has been really good with the boys and they look up to him.”
Scott McTominay, who went off at Arsenal with a stomach problem, is fit again and takes his place in the engine room alongside Fred.
The Reds are looking to get back to winning ways tonight after losing at Old Trafford last midweek to Sheffield United and drawing at Arsenal.
“For a footballer, you want to win games. That’s when you’re happy, that’s when you’re confident. For us, we’ve had a little bit of a blip here last time. Hopefully it was just a day off and we can go again,
“ Ole told MUTV.
Southampton, meanwhile, have lost their last three league matches in 2021 against Leicester, Arsenal and Aston Villa. Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl’s plans have been hit by a crippling injury list that has cost them six first-teamers.
TEAM LINE-UPS
United: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof Maguire, Shaw; Fred, McTominay; Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford; Cavani.
Subs: Henderson, Bailly, Telles, Williams, Matic, Pogba, James, van de Beek, Martial.
Southampton: McCarthy, Ramsay, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand, Ward-Prowse, Jankewitz, Djenepo, Amstrong, Adams, Ings.
Subs: Lewis, Forster, Redmond, N'Lundulu, Ferry, Finnigan, Tchaptchet, Watts, Chauke