Warren Joyce's Manchester United U21 side will look to further extend their lead at the top of the table with a win over Southampton.

The Saints travel to Leigh Sports Village in hope of making up for their disappointing loss to Chelsea last Thursday. Goals from Kasey Palmer and Dominic Solanke were impressive and poor respectively.

Josh Debayo misplaced a pass to Solanke after Palmer had struck brilliantly to open the scoring. In contrast, United were flying last week. Robin van Persie and Adnan Januzaj featured for Joyce's side with the Dutchman netting twice - once thanks to Januzaj - as Joe Rothwell also got a brace to secure a 4-1 victory. 

Southampton technical director Martin Hunter said it will be difficult to leave Manchester with points on Monday night but the Saints side must pick themselves up after Thursday's loss - where some 'truths' were told in the changing room.

"They're obviously top of the league, they're playing very well and they will have senior players there, so it will be a very hard test for us and one that we need to bounce back and get a grip of," Hunter said.

"We need to train well on Sunday and get ready for another very difficult game on Monday."

“They’ll recover on Friday. They need to rehydrate, do all the basic things, and then we’ll do the match prep on Sunday and travel again. We’ll do what we always do – we’re not going to change, we’ve had plenty of success, but there were a few home truths said in the dressing."

United are top of the table by two clear points but a win is a must to avoid the oncoming challenge of Chelsea and Liverpool. Chelsea and Manchester City both have two games in hand and should the dark blues win their two, they'll leapfrog United.

Last time these two sides faced, Ryan Seager scored a late winner to give the Saints victory.

The tables could turn this time though, with a very strong United reserve team set to be played. Bunches of players are returning from loans at Football League clubs after the season ended at the weekend and could make an appearance for Joyce's side.

Manchester United U21s - Southampton U21s kicks off at 19:00 UK time at the Leigh Sports Village in Manchester.