Man Utd vs Southampton Preview, Team News, Line-Up, Betting Tips & Prediction

Man Utd will be hoping to secure the first piece of silverware of the season when they take on Southampton at Wembley in the EFL Cup final on Sunday afternoon.

United head in to the game in excellent form having lost just one of their last 25 games in all competitions so they’ll be confident of lifting the League Cup for the fifth time in their history.

Jose Mourinho’s side eased in to the last-16 of the Europa League on Wednesday night thanks to a 4-0 aggregate victory over Saint-Etienne which kept alive hopes of a cup treble this season.

United last won the League Cup in 2010 while Mourinho lifted the trophy three times as Chelsea manager so the Red Devils won’t be overawed by the occasion of playing at Wembley.

Southampton on the other hand have never won the competition and they head in to the game having lost three of their last four games in all competitions – although they did thrash Sunderland 4-0 last time out and they are well rested having not played since February 11th.

Team news

Juan Mata didn’t travel with the rest of the United squad to London as he flew back to Spain to attend his grandfathers funeral today but he’s expected to head straight back to the capital and be available for selection tomorrow.

Wayne Rooney has been passed fit after recovering from a hamstring injury but I think we’ll see the attacker named among the substitutes this weekend.

Michael Carrick is also available despite being forced off with a knock in midweek and he should partner Ander Herrera in midfield after he served a European ban last time out.

However, Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been ruled out after suffering a hamstring injury on Wednesday so Anthony Martial could start in attack.

Southampton hope to include January signing Martin Caceres in the squad while Sofiane Boufal could also be in contention after recovering from an ankle injury.

However, Virgil van Dijk, Charlie Austin, Alex McCarthy, Matt Targett and Jeremy Pied all miss out through injury.

Likely Line-ups

Predicted Score

Man Utd 2-1 Southampton: United are on a great run of form and are proving to be extremely difficult to beat. Southampton are a dangerous side on their day but their inconsistent form has been evident in recent weeks. Mourinho has never lost a domestic English cup final [winning four times] and while I do think this will be a well-contested game, I think United will edge it in the end.