One of the most curious matches of the fourth round will be far from the meeting of any leaders of the standings. Southampton and Manchester United now have more in common than it may seem at first glance. Firstly, both clubs started the championship far from the way they planned and in a personal meeting should interrupt the series of defeats of different length. Secondly, fans of both rivals with different emotional colouring remembered the duel between the clubs in 2021, when Manchester United tore Southampton to shreds with a score of 9-0. Now the rivals do not have such a categorical difference in class, but bookmakers have identified the guests as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 1.75 on their victory.

In the off-season Southampton acquired goalkeeper Ramzdale from Arsenal, defender Harwood-Bellis from Manchester City and centre-back Flynn Downs from West Ham. Also on loan from Chelsea was taken Leslie Ugochukwu. Southampton have left strikers Che Adams and Sekou Mara, as well as centre midfielder Alcaraz. The Saints have started the season in a bad way. But it's not even about the three defeats, but the conditions in which they received them. For example, Newcastle in the first round against Southampton was left in the minority in the 28th minute, scored the only shot in the match, and the "Saints" could not get back with 78% of possession and 19 shots in the direction of Newcastle's goal. The team lost 1-3 to Brentford with a 6-7 goal difference. "Saints" meet MU as the penultimate team of the Premier League, which should sharpen their mood on the opponent to the limit.

Manchester United in the off-season left the "stale" Marcial, Greenwood, Varane, Van Bissaka and others. De Ligt, Zirkze, Yoro and Mazraoui joined the team. The Red Devils put the main emphasis on defence. It cannot be said that Erik ten Hague's attack was successful last season, as Manchester United scored in the championship at the level of Crystal Palace and two goals more than the upcoming opponent. MU started the championship with a win over Fulham but followed it up with defeats to Brighton and Liverpool. United's game is now comparable to the classic mid-table sides, so expect a great performance from the Mancunians in Southampton