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Saints V Manchester United The Preview

Can Saints make it three wins in a row at Old Trafford ? we will soon know the answer as we once again travel to the lair of the devil himself.

There can't be many teams who have won at Old Trafford three times in a row, at least not in the modern era and if you add a draw three seasons ago into the mix then, we probably have as good a run of results at United as any team in living memory.

But this year looks the hardest of the lot, Jose Mourinho showed the world that to him football management is a job not a vocation when he joined the Red Devils in the summer after previously being public enemy number one and he has since made several big name signings including likely debutant Paul Pogba who when he left Old Trafford the first time did so venting his anger at United, again money talked and showed you can buy amnesia off the shelf these days.

To add to all that it is a Saints team in transition that go there and one that has not had the best preparation being once again disrupted during the summer, not only by the usual Spurs unsettling tactics, but the Euros.

Going to a packed Old Trafford looking to poop their party isn't looking a sure bet at time of writing.

However Saints showed enough in the second half against Watford to suggest that they are learning Claude Puel's ways fast and can make things difficult for Mourinho's men, however I would be a lot happier if we had a full squad to pick from with everyone mentally and physically fit.

The game plan will be simple, keep it tight, don't make mistakes and be in with a chance in the final quarter and be ready to strike when the chance comes.

Key man for me will be Jose Fonte, he has to play and he has to be mentally right, if only because we have no one of the standard required that we can bring in to play in his place.

I'm sorry Yoshida, but you display on Saturday although faultless for most of the game showed that you always have one mistake in you in a game and at this level that is not good enough.

For Saints therefore this game is a no hitter, we are expected to be the lambs to the slaughter, if we are then so be it we can go home, lick our wounds and concentrate on getting things right in the rest of the season, after all the laws of probability are against us on this one.

However if we do get a point or three then it is a bonus.

However I have to say I am not confident, but am I like many being blinded by the words of the special one and his mega signings, will it be another false dawn for Manchester United or the start of a new era, after all we put Mourinho in his place at Stamford Bridge last season at a time when we werent in great form.

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