Ivan Juric believes his Southampton players can get a result against Manchester United.
Southampton travel to Old Trafford on Sunday after beating Swansea City in the FA Cup. It was their first win under Ivan Juric, who took over from Russell Martin last month.
The Saints, who are stuck in the relegation zone, will need to be at their very best to get a result on Sunday. A comfortable win over Championship opposition won’t make up for a 71-day wait for victory across all competitions.
Ruben Amorim will be confident after watching United beat Arsenal on penalties in the FA Cup, however, the Reds are looking for their first Premier League win since the Manchester derby on 15 December.
Southampton need to cause an upset this weekend if they plan to exit the relegation zone anytime soon. The Saints are currently 11 points from safety.
Ivan Juric warns Manchester United
It seems ridiculous for a team destined for relegation to be confident about facing United.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 9 |  FulhamFulham | 21 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 32 | 30 | 2 | 30 |
| 10 |  BrentfordBrentford | 21 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 40 | 37 | 3 | 28 |
| 11 |  BrightonBrighton | 20 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 30 | 29 | 1 | 28 |
| 12 |  West HamWest Ham | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 41 | -14 | 26 |
| 13 |  TottenhamTottenham | 21 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 43 | 32 | 11 | 24 |
| 14 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 21 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 23 | 28 | -5 | 24 |
| 15 |  Man UtdManchester United | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 28 | -5 | 23 |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 20 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 26 | -11 | 17 |
| 17 |  IpswichIpswich | 20 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 20 | 35 | -15 | 16 |
| 18 |  WolvesWolves | 21 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 31 | 48 | -17 | 16 |
| 19 |  LeicesterLeicester | 21 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 23 | 46 | -23 | 14 |
| 20 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 20 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 12 | 44 | -32 | 6 |
Amorim needs time to change the way opposing teams view the United first-team.
Under Sir Alex Ferguson, teams would come to Old Trafford with fear written across their faces, but that hasn’t been the case in a long time.
Juric is “optimistic” about Southampton’s chances after seeing United lose their last three home games.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Wednesday, Juric said: “I am optimistic about our chances. We can do it. It’s a good game.
“The guys are working well. They are a little bit more confident after the Swansea game and we will see tomorrow.
“We can think even that we can do something in the first 20 minutes of the game. I want my team to play with confidence and aggressiveness and try to do something.”
Ruben Amorim praised for near perfect job at Sporting CP
Ahead of the game, Juric revealed that he kept a close eye on Amorim’s managerial career in Portugal, where he won two league titles at Sporting CP.
Amorim’s Sporting side also stunned Man City with a 4-1 win in the Champions League earlier this week.
Juric believes Amorim will try to do what he did with Sporting CP at United over the coming years.
“Manchester United changed the manager, they changed the style of the play. They are playing 3-4-3 like Amorim did in Sporting. I think they are trying to find the right way.
“He’s a young, talented manager and he’s starting to do quite well. They did some good games and some bad games.
“It’s normal when you change the style of football. He was really good at Sporting. I think he will do a good job.
“I was watching him live when they played against Atalanta. They are like 3-4-3 classic we can say.
“With Sporting Lisbon it was almost perfection. I think he wants to do the same thing at Manchester United.”
United fans will be very happy if Amorim can bring some of that perfection back to Old Trafford. He must start with solving our consistency issues in the league.
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