Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praised his Manchester United medical staff after naming an unchanged team for the fifth Premier League game in a row.
It's the first time United have fielded the same starting XI in five successive league games since February 1993 and is all the more impressive considering the games have been coming thick and fast since the season resumed.
Solskjaer's decision is a sign of the confidence he has in his side right now, with United looking to make it 18 games unbeaten in all competitions against Southampton at Old Trafford.
Victory would move them to third in the Premier League table and the previous four games this starting XI have played have finished by an aggregate scoreline of 14-2, with commanding wins against Sheffield United, Brighton, Bournemouth and Aston Villa.
Having played at Villa Park on Thursday United have had an extra day's rest, but as Solskjaer acknowledges the schedule ramps up now, with his side in action on Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday and Sunday over the next couple of weeks.
"We're h appy with the XI, and happy with the staff outside, they’re working hard to make sure everyone is recovered," Solskjaer told MUTV.
"We’ve had a decent amount of recovery days in between which we won’t have for the rest of the season now, we have the short straw in that respect but we had the long straw at the start of this. We didn’t feel we needed to change [the team]."
Solskjaer is expecting a tough examination from an in-form Southampton, having been impressed with their win over Manchester City a week ago and their performance in drawing at Everton.
“It doesn’t matter if you're home or away without the crowd now, it says everything about the quality, they have a German style and we knew when Ralph came in this is the way he envisaged his team playing," said Solskjaer.
