League Cup Final: Manchester United vs Southampton preview

The first piece of silverware of the season in England will be handed out on Sunday at Wembley as Manchester United take on Southampton in the League Cup final. Manchester United have beaten Southampton 2-0 at Old Trafford in the Premier League in August, but the recent history of the direct meetings between the two sides has plenty of happy moments for the Saints. Southampton won at Old Trafford both in 2016 and 2015, and they did it by the same scoreline: 1-0. Overall, Manchester United have won three of the last six direct matches, while the Saints collected two wins. Manchester United are coming from five consecutive wins in all competitions, including victories in both legs over Saint-Etienne in the Europa League. Winning a trophy during his first season in charge at Old Trafford will surely mean a lot to manager Jose Mourinho, amid speculation regarding Wayne Rooney's future at the club. Michael Carrick and Henrikh Mkhitaryan picked up injuries during the Europa League match this week so they will most likely miss the League Cup final. Rooney has just returned to training after an injury of his own and might start this one on the bench. Southampton are not having a great season in the Premier League, they are currently 11th in the league table and their chances of reaching the top six are extremely low. Winning the League Cup would guarantee them a spot in next season's Europa League and also some relief to their disappointed fans. The Saints recovered from three consecutive defeats in all competitions with a 4-0 victory at Sunderland in their last Premier League match, which was two weeks ago. Manager Claude Puel still has a long list of injured players, including defender Virgil van Dijk and striker Charlie Austin. Probable line-ups: Man United: De Gea - Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Blind - Fellaini, Herrera - Mata, Pogba, Martial - Ibrahimovic Southampton: Forster - Soares, Yoshida, Stephens, Bertrand - Romeu, Davis - Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Boufal - Gabbiadini My prediction: 1-1 draw after 90 minutes. Here are the odds for the match at Bet365: Man United win - 1.80 Draw - 3.60 Southampton win - 5.25