Manchester United have rested Paul Pogba for their meeting with Southampton, with Mason Greenwood’s return to the starting XI the only change from the team that lined up at Arsenal on Saturday.
United are back in league action as they welcome Saints to Old Trafford, with the Frenchman dropping to the bench.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows his side need to put in a much-improved performance if they are to make up for their dropped points against Sheffield United and Arsenal last week.
Solskjaer explained the decision to name Pogba among the substitutes was simply a case of managing his squad’s fitness levels amid the packed fixture schedule.
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“Mason is ready to kick on now,” the manager told MUTV. “He has played three previous ones before Arsenal and now he had a little bit of a rest, came on, looked sharp again and looking forward to seeing him.
“It’s a little bit of a rotation and the accumulation of games. I think Paul played nine games in a month which is quite a lot for a big lad and the squad is strong anyway. I felt it was chance to give him a rest. If we need him of course he’s ready to come on.”
On United’s aim to return to winning ways after losing to Sheffield United and drawing with Arsenal, Solskjaer said: “Of course for a footballer you want to win games. That’s when you’re happy, that’s when you’re confident. We had a little bit of a blip last time. Hopefully it was just an off day and we can get going again.”
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