Southampton v Man Utd Tips: Joe Cole’s best bets for Saturday’s early game

He's here and he's perfect.

The white smoke is bellowing above Power Tower and it can only mean one thing – Joe Cole has become Paddy’s latest superstar signing!

The certified #Barclaysman man turned prime pundit has signed da ting, proudly posed with his new Paddy Power pants and is ready to regale us lucky lot with his views on all things Premier League.

First up for Coley is this interesting Southampton v Manchester United match up in his personal favorite time slot, 12.30pm on a Saturday. So lets get this international break over and done with and get back to the good stuff.

Southampton v Man Utd tips

Manchester United to Win 2-1
Bruno Fernandes to score anytime

WHEN: Saturday 14th of September, 12.30pm
WHERE: St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
TV: TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate

Erik ten Hag needs to weather the storm. I’ve spoken to him and he’s a real good chap to talk to in interviews because he gives you something.

He’s honest with his appraisals of his team. He needs to get through the first two months of the season and then press on.

He had a lot of big players missing for lots of games last year. The Liverpool result was a disaster for him but he always seems to bounce back whenever they have a couple of indifferent results.

He’s just got to get into the season and assess where his side’s at. I don’t think Manchester United will challenge for the title, they need to be in that next bracket alongside Chelsea, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Newcastle.

That top three are too far ahead at the moment. I would be surprised if he is still the manager come the end of the season though.

The first thing to mention about these 12.30pm kick offs after an international break, which I normally cover on the telly, is that they do tend to favour the sides who have the most players in the building over the break.

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Manchester United’s squad will have been all over the world, they’ll be coming back at different times, and Erik ten Hag’s going to have to find a way to work out what his best side will actually be on the day.

Southampton wouldn’t have had as many players away on international duty so that could be a factor. The way that they play, I don’t think they’ve got the quality to beat United.

When they face a team with an elite press I think they’ll find it very, very difficult. I watched Manchester United at Brighton and I thought, although they lost the game, there were signs where the press was a little bit better.

Even though United are odds on with Paddy, and the fact it’s a 12.30pm kick off, I still fancy them to win this game. Southampton will turn up and it will be tight, they need to get something on the board, but I fancy United to nick it 2-1. If you’re looking for a goal scorer it has to be Bruno Fernandes.

Southampton v Man Utd betting tips

Manchester United to Win 2-1
Bruno Fernandes to score anytime

*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.

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