Saints fans will be hoping that United have got their defeat at Liverpool out of their systems by beating Real Betis on Thursday evening, but it will still be a tough fixture and one that if we get something out of it, will be a bonus.

All eyes were on Old Trafford last night as Manchester United fresh from their joint equal worst defeat of 7-0 at Anfield took on Real Betis, it ended with a 4-1 win for the Red Devils although for over half the game it was an equal contest after the visitors with ex Saints player Juanmi in their ranks equalised an early strike by Marcus Rashford.

United played a swashbuckling game, but looked vulnerable on the break as was exploited by the Spanish side, but Saints fans can take heart that if we can work hard, dig in and have a little bit of luck, then we can perhaps get something on the break.

Most of the media will be focusing on United's last Premier League game and likening it to Saints drubbing at Old Trafford a couple of years ago, but the background behind both games was entirely different, United had a full side out and were tipped to win at Anfield on Sunday, their defeat was a case of their seasoned professionals collapsing into chaos and disorder on the day.

Whereas the Saints side on that fateful evening had two youngsters in the starting line up with virtually no experience alongside just about the only 9 fit experienced professionals we had left.

On the bench we did have the experienced Nathan Redmond, but for company he had another 6 youngsters and two goalkeepers.

Add to that one of the youngsters in Jankewitz sent off after 3 minutes and a controversial incident in the 86th minute when Jan Bednarek clearly did not touch his opponent but Mike Dean still gave a penalty, despite the United man saying he had not been touched and VAR confirming it which Dean refused to acknowledge his error.

The red card for Bednarek was overturned a few days later, but the damage had been done, and United scored from the penalty and then twice more to make it 9-0.

A record equalling Premier League result, but to be blunt from the two different perspectives, United's drubbing was far more significant on Sunday, they had no excuses, no sendings off, no VAR issues and a full squad to pick from, those that said that no manager should survive a 9-0 defeat, didn't take into account the circumstances Ralph Hasenhuttl was working under, Erik Ten Hag had luxuries in his squad that Saints can only dream of, if 9-0 was a disaster for Saints then United's 7-0 was the equivalent of a 12-0 defeat for United.

Saints though got this defeat out of their system quite quickly, last season they drew both games against United 1-1 and it will be a far different side that goes up to Old Trafford than went there two years ago.

Only Five players who started that night are likely to play on Sunday, James Ward Prowse, Che Adams & Jan Bednarek plus Moussa Djenepo & Stuart Armstrong.

Although that sounds a lot, it should be noted that only 4 more in Walcott, Diallo, Salisu & Kyle Walker Peter's are still in this season's squad such is the new blood that has been brought in over the last two years.

So Saints can travel to Old Trafford with some confidence, albeit a shaky one given that although two wins out of the last three have dragged us off the bottom, we can't just put the poor form of the last six months behind us by clicking our fingers.

Some will call this game a free hit, one that we are not expected to win, one where the manner of the performance is just as important as the result, one that we have to take defeat on the chin and hope that our rivals lose games that are not so much free hits.

Whilst I agree with that I also see it as an opportunity to pick up a point that that we are not expected to get and if we do then that puts fear into those clubs around us in the table.

From a team selection point of view it has to be good that Ruben Selles has not followed the scattergun approach of his predecessor, Nathan Jones chopped and changed his teams as he tried to find a winning formula and in doing so not only created chaos on the field, but did not mould a squad that knew who would be doing what from week to week.

Ruben Selles seems to know the core of what he is trying to do and is keeping things simple and with a core squad in contention.

His first two Premier League games saw the same starting XI and for the third he made four changes, tweaking the side to give us both a more attacking look than at Chelsea and Leeds and also taking into account those that had perhaps not performed as well as the rest.

You get the feeling that the players respect Selles as they know where they are with him, they are not being chopped and changed and different formations every week.

That has seen us concede just once in the last three League games and although there are some who will point out that Leicester did miss a few sitters last weekend, that should be counterbalanced by the fact that so did we, including a penalty.

In truth we have missed far more sitters over this season than have been missed against us.

If all easy chances had been put away at both ends of the pitch then I think we would be squarely in mid table at the moment, so I am not one of those that is giving credit for the win over Leicester to the fact that they didn't put away their chances.

So I don't expect too many changes to the line up for Sunday, if there are any changes they may be tactical, concentrating on keeping the game tight and then going on the break.

I would not be surprised to see Stuart Armstrong back in the side for Charly Alcatraz, swapping attacking pace for Premier League experience and perhaps one more change.

But apart from that I think it will be about keeping the core of the side and the good Premier league form going.

It will be tough, United are a side full of superstars and have been in good form up to that Liverpool game, they have won a lot of games since the return of football before the winter break, but it should be noted that a lot of them have been against sides in the bottom half of the Premier League.

They have played 6 home games in the League since Boxing Day and have won 5 of them, but the bulk have been sides in the bottom half of the League, Forest, Bournemouth, Palace, Leeds & Leicester, with just Manchester City being a side in the top half.

Ironically the only side to take a point were Leeds United, so that shows they can be vulnerable .

In conclusion I don't expect much from this game, but I do not think that United are quite yet there to the level that they would want to be, there is a soft underbelly to them, they are still more showboat than clinical.

We of course despite our recent shut outs are still far from being tight at the back, we will always need some chances missed to see us home, but that is the case for any side down the bottom.

Like most Saints fans, firstly i want to see a good performance that doesn't damage our goal difference too much and then anything is a bonus.

Photo: Action Images

highfield49 added 11:53 - Mar 10 I'm hoping that Utd decide to give Maguire a rare chance to show his turning speed and ball control skills before selling him for a huge loss. Alcaraz could have a hat trick if Maguire's playing. A touch pedantic on my part Nick but why do you keep calling him Alcatraz? Whatever the team selected they clearly have to concentrate, stay focused and not over respect the opposition. It's so easy to lose a game just because your mindset is defeatist from the kick off. Let's see a Man City or Chelsea have a go attitude and not a cowering damage limitation performance.

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WestSussexSaint added 13:47 - Mar 10 I maybe accused of a defeatist mindset by Highfield😉, but I don’t expect much from this game in terms of points. What I do hope for is a continuation of the battling spirit that Selles seems to have instilled in his core group of players. That should ensure no repeat of 9-0 and in a season where the bottom half of the table is so tight, relegation could be decided by goal difference. The Grimsby game showed Selles who is willing to work for him and so I don’t expect a dramatic change on the player selection. Possibly Alcaraz/Alcatraz? will not start if there is any hangover from his knee injury and if that is the case I would like to see Tall Paul given some game time and see if he and Che can form a strike partnership.

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davidargyll added 16:54 - Mar 10 Surely the key to this contest will be not to ship more than two goals maximum because I am pretty sure GD will decide who gets relegated this season. Yes we still just might get lucky. But I’d far rather we take a pragmatic rather than a “let’s see if we can get something out if it” approach to this game.
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SaintPaulVW added 12:38 - Mar 12 After yesterday, if we can beg, borrow or steal a win we can escape the bottom 3 COYR
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