Southampton will head into Saturday's showdown at St Mary's with Manchester United high on confidence, manager Ralph Hasenhüttl has said, following back-to-back wins on the road over the past week.
Saints picked up their first Premier League win of the season last Saturday, winning 2-0 at Brighton, before advancing past Championship club Fulham, 1-0, in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.
ralph hasenhüttl
we can take a massive step now with three points.
southampton manager
Attention now turns to this weekend's match, as Ole Gunnar Solskjær brings his United side to the south coast, and Hasenhüttl is in an optimistic mood ahead of the game.
"I think it was important for us that we took two clean sheets and two wins in the two away games," he said. "Now we want to win also in St Mary's.
"I think the team is building up self-confidence now, after that difficult start, with difficult games. We had a very good performance against Liverpool, but with no points after two games, and now we have turned the table a little bit and we can make a massive step now when we take three points against Man United."
Hasenhüttl has some injury trouble in his squad ahead of the game, with Nathan Redmond and Moussa Djenepo ruled out, while Michael Obafemi is also likely to be absent and Ryan Bertrand remains a doubt.
However, the Saints boss has been pleased by how players have stepped up when called upon, and is satisfied that there remain strong options at his disposal.
"We must have a look, with three injuries in the last game," he said. "But, especially in the offence, we have a lot of alternatives, with players who haven't played so far, like Longy, so we have a few other options also."
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