Is Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Manchester United against Southampton tomorrow?

Cristiano Ronaldo could be in contention to start when Manchester United travel to face Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, August 27. This is mainly down to Anthony Martial's injury.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed that the Frenchman has suffered from an Achilles injury. He will be absent from the trip down to the south coast.

The Dutch tactician said the following in a press conference (via the club's official website):

"Anthony Martial is not fit. He came out with a problem on his Achilles, [coming] out of the game, so we have to wait. I cannot tell a prognosis how long it takes but, of course, I hope that he will be available for the next game [Leicester]."

This leaves the door open for Ronaldo to start for only the second time this season.

He did not start for Manchester United during their previous Premier League game against Liverpool, which they won 2-1. Ten Hag decided to start with an attacking trio of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga.

However, the Portuguese could come in to replace Elanga in the starting XI against Southampton.

It is worth mentioning that the forward's future at Manchester United is still a big question as the transfer window nears its end.

Ten Hag's side picked up their first win of the new season in their win against rivals Liverpool and are currently 14th in the Premier League standings.

They began their campaign poorly, as they suffered two defeats against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford in their first two matches.

Southampton, on the other hand, also picked up their win of the season last weekend. They secured a 2-1 win over Leicester City with Che Adams scoring a brace.

The Saints lost their first match against Tottenham Hotspur and drew their next match against Leeds United.

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How did Cristiano Ronaldo perform when Manchester United faced Southampton last season?

Cristiano Ronaldo faced Southampton just once last season. This happened because he was not an official Manchester United player that early in the season.

The Portugal international faced Southampton in February earlier this year but made no goalscoring contributions. The game ended 1-1 on that occasion with Jadon Sancho scoring a goal for the Red Devils.

Ronaldo ended the 2021-22 season as United's top goalscorer, netting 24 times from 38 games across all competitions.