Russell Martin will welcome the first international break of the season as a chance to put right Southampton’s poor start to the season.
Defeats to Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Brentford see Southampton 19th in the Premier League after three games, with just one goal scored.
Russell Martin has seen his side win once this season, with a 5-3 triumph over Cardiff City in the second round of the Carabao Cup all Southampton fans have had to really cheer about since their return to the top flight.
Martin generally preferred to use a 4-3-3 formation last season but has set his Saints side up in the 3-5-2 they ended the campaign with so far in the Premier League with little success.
- READ MORE: Russell Martin now knows one key change he has to make after Southampton lost to Brentford
There were also only two new faces in the starting XI for the 1-0 defeats against Newcastle and Forest, before Aaron Ramsdale became the third in the 3-1 loss at Brentford last time out.
Russell Martin expected to change Southampton line-up against Manchester United
Martin’s loyalty to the players that got Southampton promoted is commendable, but the Saints boss knows he can no longer afford to be sentimental.
The next block of games is crucial to the club’s chances of staying up this season, with Southampton facing fellow newly-promoted clubs Ipswich Town and Leicester City as well as bottom-place Everton in the next seven league outings.
Next up though is a home clash against Manchester United on Saturday 14th, with Martin expected to make significant changes to the XI that faced Brentford.
- READ MORE: Why Tyler Dibling’s wait for first Southampton Premier League start may continue against Man Utd
With plenty of time on the training pitch, Martin will be looking to devise a plan with his players that can see them pick up their first points of the season, but there is one factor the 38-year-old will have to take into consideration for the 12:30pm BST kick-off.
Ben Brereton Diaz and Yukinari Sugawara could return to Southampton late
Of course, Martin will be without his full squad in the lead up to the United game, with ten of his players away on international duty.
All but two of these will be playing in Europe, but summer signings Ben Brereton Diaz and Yukinari Sugawara have travelled much further afield.
Brereton Diaz is currently away with Chile where he faces World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Argentina and Bolivia, whilst Sugawara is also involved with qualifiers for the same tournament as Japan face China and Bahrain.
Japan played the first of those two games on Thursday as they beat China 7-0, with Sugawara an unused substitute, but the fact both he and Brereton Diaz are playing thousands of miles away in different time zones could make it difficult for either to feature against United.
Both players play the second of their international fixtures on Tuesday night before returning to Southampton so will be competing with jet lag as well as the fact they have not been involved in the preparation to face Erik ten Hag’s side.
With both players starting each of the three Premier League games so far, Brereton Diaz and Sugawara may be two of the casualties of Martin’s reshuffle due to their international exploits.