Early Team News For Southampton v United

Jose Mourinho is "not counting down the days" until Paul Pogba returns – because the Manchester United midfielder’s absence provides opportunities for others to impress.

Pogba suffered a hamstring injury during the first half of the UEFA Champions League Group A victory over FC Basel at Old Trafford earlier this month. Although the manager does not know how long the France international will be unavailable for, he has repeatedly expressed he has no concerns.

That is mainly because United have a large squad which includes several options in central midfield, with the likes of Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera and young prospect Scott McTominay all ready to start alongside our continually-impressive summer signing Nemanja Matic.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s Premier League match at Southampton, Mourinho told reporters: "I have no idea when he [Pogba] will be back, no idea, but again, this is a great opportunity for other players to play and I trust them all. So I'm not going to cry or be counting the days until Pogba comes back. When he comes back, welcome, but until then I trust my people."

WHO MIGHT START AGAINST THE SAINTS?
Mourinho made nine changes for the Carabao Cup third-round win over Burton Albion on Wednesday night, resting previous starters David De Gea, Antonio Valencia, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Daley Blind, Nemanja Matic, Fellaini, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Romelu Lukaku. It appears likely that the majority of those players will come back into the side for the 15:00 BST kick-off at St Mary's Stadium.

However, Jose was given something to think about following Anthony Martial’s superb performance in midweek that yielded a goal, an assist and the Man of the Match award. The Frenchman has regularly been named on the bench in the league this season, but could this be his time to be named in the eleven? Luke Shaw is also looking for a first start of the campaign, after returning to action as a substitute in midweek, and he'd no doubt love to be involved against his former club.

QUESTION MARK OVER VAN DIJK
Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino has refused to confirm if centre-back Virgil van Dijk will start. The Dutchman was heavily linked with a transfer to Liverpool over the summer and reportedly trained alone during that period. He made his first appearance of the season as an 87th-minute substitute at Crystal Palace last weekend, and it has been suggested an appearance against the Reds could follow.

"Every single week Virgil is getting better," Pellogrino said on Thursday. "After a long period of time without playing a game, now he is training well and that is good news for us because we need Virgil like every single player in our squad. Every single week he will improve, but at the same time he needs to train and to play. The best training session for me is to play games.

"But the structure of the defence doesn't change too much when you change one player. Our defensive level is not just about the back four or one centre-back. I believe in the collective, to be together when we attack and defend. We have to be 100 per cent focused against United."