Southampton v Man Utd (BST 16:00)

Doesn’t really pay to look too far ahead in football, does it? Manchester United and Louis van Gaal have fielded their fair share of brickbats of late – and losing at PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League kept things nice and fresh – but a glance at the Premier League table suggests things could be considerably worse and a deft cupping of the ear reveals a knocking sound made by a mysterious figure named “Opportunity”.

No, it doesn’t really pay to look too far ahead in football, but we’ll do it anyway. If United dig out a frill and probably thrill-free win at St Mary’s then they’ll ascend to second in The Best League In The World, with a home match with Sunderland to look forward to next weekend while Manchester City visit Spurs. Ifs and buts aplenty there but the point is that, while nobody enjoys watching Louis van Gaal’s version of “control” too much at the moment, his team are very handily placed at this stage and it doesn’t take the boldest leap of the imagination to see them leading the pack a week from now.

But nor would it take a loosened grip on reality to envisage them pass, pass, passing their way inconsequentially to a dropping of points at Southampton. It has been a slightly more difficult beginning for the Saints than their buccaneering entrance to 2014-15, the only win coming against a 10-man Norwich side three weeks ago. By the same token, their only defeat was at home to Everton, and they’ve kept three clean sheets in their five games. Middling stuff then, really, but with a few signs that Dusan Tadic – a star 12 months ago – is rediscovering some form and that Victor Wanyama, such an important figure deeper in midfield, has regained his appetite to play some football.

You would expect to see Ronald Koeman’s side get better, so this clash of the Dutch masters looks like a difficult one to call. It’s pretty fair to assume that, by 6pm, Manchester United will either be fierce title contenders or in the depths of a sterile, crisis-strewn hell.

Southampton: Stekelenburg, Yoshida, Fonte, van Dijk, Targett, Wanyama, Romeu, Mane, Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Pelle.
Subs: Kelvin Davis, Cedric Soares, Long, Steven Davis, Rodriguez, Martina, Juanmi.

Man Utd: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Carrick, Schneiderlin, Mata, Rooney, Depay, Martial.
Subs: Young, Romero, Ander Herrera, Valencia, Fellaini, Schweinsteiger, McNair.