English Premier League Third place in sight for Manchester United

The Red Devils will visit St Mary’s in hopes of maintaining winning form

LONDON: Louis van Gaal's resurgent Manchester United side will have their eyes on third place in the Premier League table when they tackle Ronald Koeman's sputtering Southampton at St Mary's on Monday.

After winning only three of their first seven league games, a run of four consecutive victories has taken United to within touching distance of early-season surprise package Southampton.

Koeman's side shot up the table by winning eight of their nine games between late August and early November, but a draw at Aston Villa and back-to-back losses to Manchester City and Arsenal has curtailed their momentum.

Victory for United will lift them above Southampton into third place and take van Gaal's team to within eight points of leaders Chelsea, who crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday.

A win would further galvanise United's confidence ahead of next weekend's home game with archenemies Liverpool, but van Gaal has warned his players not to get ahead of themselves. "Southampton are playing better at this time and have more points at the moment than Liverpool, so I think it's good that we have to play Southampton now," said the United manager.

Van Gaal's relationship with fellow Dutchman Koeman provides one of the sub-plots for today’s game. Koeman, 51, successfully worked under 63-year-old Van Gaal at Barcelona, but the pair fell out at Ajax in 2004, when Koeman was coach and van Gaal technical director.

A more pressing concern for Koeman is the spate of injuries that has afflicted his side during their three-match winless run. However, Koeman drew confidence from his side's improved display at Arsenal, where they lost to an 89th-minute goal by Alexis Sanchez, but knows that in United they are likely to face another stern examination.

"It's not an easy one because it's United – a big name with big players – but it's a challenge for us to try to win against them," he said.

City braced for painful Aguero absence

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini admits it is impossible to know how long knee ligament injury victim Sergio Aguero will be sidelined for after the star striker hobbled off in the 1-0 win over Everton.

The Argentina international, the Premier League's top scorer with 14 goals, limped out in the second minute when he jarred his knee as he stretched for the ball in a challenge with Muhamed Besic and may be out for a while.

Wenger bemoans Arsenal's naivety

Arsene Wenger admits a lack of experience in the Arsenal defence proved costly as his team endured more misery at the Britannia Stadium as Stoke hung on for a 3-2 victory. “Stoke started strong and we were not decisive enough in our defensive challenges," said Wenger.

 

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