de Gea
Rafael - Evans - Vidic - Evra
Carrick - Fellaini
Welbeck - Kagawa - Januzaj
van Persie
Subs: Lindegaard, Jones, Fabio, Valencia, Nani, Rooney, Hernandez
Against Southampton we will need to play players who are comfortable under pressure and simply retain possession well, given how high Southampton press the opposition - more than any other side in the league. Goalkeeper is pretty self-explanatory, but the defence is what has come under scrutiny with our poor distribution from the back. Vidic, Jones, Smalling and even Ferdinand now are all uncomfortable on the ball and are often far too direct when in possession. Evans at least offers a semblance of calm and allows us to play out from the back, I think Vidic will also benefit from having a centre back alongside him who can play out from the back. Rafael and Evra speaks for itself.
Massive disappointment that Cleverley is injured, particularly for this game as he is far more suited to play alongside Carrick than Fellaini when playing high-pressure teams, as it is it'll have to be Fellaini if his wrist doesn't play up; Anderson and Giggs aren't good enough in possession, so that only leaves Fellaini as a viable option really. Scoring two goals in your last game warrants inclusion in any case, so Januzaj should start especially seeing as he can't participate against Real Sociedad. Kagawa offers a better link between midfield and attack than Rooney, so we should be able to progress further up the pitch better with more fluidity and tempo to our play. Welbeck is also very comfortable in possession, so that's why I'd opt for him.
Hard choice between Rooney and van Persie. Rooney has easily been our best player this season, but we need van Persie to hit form again and his hat-trick for Holland might be an indication he is heading that way. If he starts he might get some momentum and start scoring regularly again.