Savvy Southampton deserve EFL Cup success over Manchester United

For a club of Manchester United’s stature, the EFL Cup, formerly known as the League Cup, is a competition that they have been serial underachievers in. Sunday’s final will provide the Red Devils with the chance to lift just their fifth EFL Cup trophy and their first since 2010, which is a measly total when you consider their manager alone, Jose Mourinho, has won the competition three times. However, for their opponents Southampton, their date at Wembley presents the chance for all of the club’s fine recent work to culminate in their first piece of major silverware in more than 40 years. 

Now regarded as a model club for others to follow by example, Southampton have been forced to remain competitive on the pitch despite losing their best assets to rival clubs along the way. It was only last month that saw their captain trade in the chance to lift a trophy for a relegation battle.

Southampton were tipped as one of the favourites for relegation after they were stripped of more than £100m worth of talent in the summer of 2014, but they actually went on to better the achievements of the campaign before and even qualified for Europe for the first time since 2003 that season. 

They have survived the loss of two highly rated managers since then and now Claude Puel is looking to do what his predecessors could not and win a trophy in what is the only their second-ever final appearance in the competition.

You'd be hard pressed to find a side more deserving of silverware in the last decade than Southampton too. It was only seven years ago, which was incidentally when United last won the EFL Cup, that Southampton danced with extinction and started the season in the third tier of English football with a 10 points deduction. While Southampton have turned to their academy and been frugal in the transfer market to rebuild the club, United have added more than £650m worth of new talent over that same period.

It's not just the enormous gulf in resources that will be the difference on the pitch for Southampton, but they will also have to get the better of a manager that has perhaps placed a higher value on winning the competition than anyone else in its 57-year history. Only two managers have won the EFL Cup more times than Mourinho and he'd love nothing more than to put his name alongside Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough on four-a-piece this weekend.

Other than Mourinho's former club, Chelsea, United are arguably the best side in England at the moment having only lost one of their last 25 matches in all competitions. Injuries to Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Michael Carrick in the build up to the final have complicated matters for Mourinho, but they are still favourites this weekend.

Not only do they have a masterful winner on the touchline, but in Zlatan Ibrahimovic they also have a phenomenal leader on the pitch. The 35-year-old has continued to defy logic with each passing week and has already scored more goals than any other United player since the start of last season, despite only joining the club last summer (25).

He is a man for the big occasion and you can almost guarantee that if United are to end up with the trophy in their hands then it will be because of the mercurial Swede. In order to do so, United will have to become the first team to score against Southampton in the competition this season. Puel's side are only the second side since Tottenham in 1981/82 to reach the EFL Cup final without conceding, although Spurs did end up losing that final 3-1 to Liverpool after extra time.

When you consider Southampton overcame Arsenal and a two-legged semi final against a rampant Liverpool side in that run, the achievement is all the more impressive. With star defender Virgil van Dijk ruled out and Puel weighing up whether to hand experienced defender Martin Caceres his first competitive appearance in more than a year, Puel will need the Fraser Forster that has shown up in their cup run rather than the hapless goalkeeper that has looked devoid of confidence in the league. It's been a poor season for the 28-year-old, highlighted by the fact only Claudio Bravo (53.4%) has a worse save success rate than the England international (54.4%) in the Premier League this season.

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Ibrahimovic already has 13 goals in his last eight matches against Puel managed sides and he won’t need a second invitation to add to that tally here. Given United have never lost when they've scored the first goal in a game this season, and won 25 of those 28 matches, it's imperative Southampton don't shoot themselves in the foot.

However, United are not the only side with a striker to be feared. Manolo Gabbiadini has hit the ground running since joining from Napoli in January, scoring three goals in his first two appearances for the club. The 25-year-old has actually scored in each of his last five appearances when you take into account his final games for Napoli. Puel will hope the two-week break his side have had to prepare for the final won’t have killed Gabbiadini’s momentum, particularly given United have only conceded one goal in their last seven matches in all competitions.

For all of the talk about Southampton's defence and newfound potency in attack, their most important player on the day will be Oriol Romeu. The former Chelsea midfielder is playing the best football of his career this season and he will need to be at his destructive best in order to disrupt United's offensive play. With Paul Pogba set to start in a more advanced role this weekend in Mkhitaryan’s absence, Romeu, who has completed the third most tackles and interceptions combined (136) and has won possession in the midfield third (140) more times than any other Premier League player this season, will need to cut the supply source to Ibrahimovic. The understanding United's big name summer arrivals have struck up in such a short space of time has been genuinely outstanding and it’s no surprise that the duo have created more chances for one and other than any other partnership in the Premier League this season. Furthermore, all five of Pogba's assists have been for Ibrahimovic this season.

For Southampton to triumph in their first major final since the 2003 FA Cup final, it is up to Romeu to stop United’s clearest route to goal. Players and managers will continue to come and go at Southampton but they have already proven they have a structure in place to cope with it. However, there is no blueprint that guarantees silverware and Southampton have to grasp their opportunity here and deliver a major trophy to their fans for the first time since 1976. The club deserve it, but that alone means nothing when you're up against one of the biggest clubs in world football.

For supporters looking to watch the EFL Cup final outside of the UK Bet365 are streaming Sunday’s match between Manchester United and Southampton live.