Manchester United will return to more familiar surroundings on Thursday night when they welcome Southampton to Old Trafford in the Premier League.

United started 2025 with back-to-back away games against Liverpool and Arsenal, performing well and picking up positive results on both occasions.

Seven days after halting their four-game losing run with an impressive 2-2 draw against table-toppers Liverpool at Anfield, United got the better of Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, winning 5-3 on penalties to progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup, setting up a tie with Leicester City at Old Trafford next month.

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Having gone into the Liverpool and Arsenal double-header on a four-game losing run, almost everybody associated with United anticipated the worst. They were in dire straits and their record at both Anfield and the Emirates in recent years was uninspiring to say the least.

However, United produced the levels of commitment and desire that had not previously been on show at any point this season to secure positive results, earning a plethora of praise and recognition in the process. The challenge for them now, of course, is to maintain a similar standard against bottom-of-the-table Southampton.

The Saints have won just one league game since being promoted back to the Premier League at the first time of asking at the end of last season and are already in need of a miracle to beat the drop. On paper, United could not have wished for a more favourable home game after two such demanding away trips.

But as United have proven far too many times in recent years, nothing can be taken for granted. Furthermore, their home form has been far from sparkling so far this season.

It will only be natural for some United fans to make the journeys to Old Trafford on Thursday night fearful that complacency might creep in given Southampton's current predicament. It is a fear that skipper Bruno Fernandes has already addressed, admitting he was "worried" about the Saints' visit to M16 after the draw with Liverpool.

"I wasn't worried about everyone putting in effort today because it's Liverpool," Fernandes told Sky Sports after the Anfield stalemate. "Everybody will try to do their best.

"We need to get this standard in every game. I will probably be more worried about Southampton after this performance.

"We can't think that it's already good enough because it's not and it will be a really tough one again. We always can do more and today is one of those."

Since making that admission, United have raised the bar even further with their showing at the Emirates, meaning they will be under pressure to get the better of Southampton without too many difficulties.

United have not been good enough in run of the mill games this season, often making hard work of them. If they show the same levels of commitment and desire against the Saints as they did against Liverpool and Arsenal, their superior level of quality should see them get the job done.