Manchester United won the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 match against Real Betis 4-1 at Old Trafford, putting an end to the La Liga team’s 7-0 humiliation at the hands of Liverpool.

Erik ten Hag deserves kudos for coming back from their Anfield setback, and the outcome undoubtedly positions them favorably for the return leg.

Prior to that, though, United must deal with Southampton in the Premier League, where the Saints are battling to keep their place at the top of the table.

Given that members of the team struggled against Betis and that the team is still competing in three leagues, Ten Hag will probably make some changes for the game.

Fred was one of those players, and today afternoon against the south coast side, he ought to be benched.

When Manchester United plays Southampton, will Fred start?

He didn’t give his best United performance against Betis. The Brazilian midfielder was the weakest Red Devis player on the field that night, according to his Sofascore rating of 6.4/10.

It is surprising that United was able to win so easily despite him playing as a passenger in the middle of the park with just 26 passes completed, one shot, two unsuccessful dribble attempts, and ten duels lost.

This season, the Brazilian international has struggled for consistency in the Premier League, so The Dud hasn’t really shown his actual skill there either.

The £120k-per-week player’s overall Sofascore rating in the league this season is outside the top ten (11th), and he also performs below average in terms of accurate passes (15th), interceptions (11th), and shots on target per match (13th), suggesting that he has underperformed since ten Hag took over.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the Dutchman drops him to the bench today after his poor performance against Leicester City last month, which Gary Neville referred to as “sloppy” during Sky’s live broadcast. Manchester Evening News writer Samuel Luckhurst called it “another nightmare” performance.

If the midfielder keeps putting forth underwhelming performances on a weekly basis, you have to question how long he has left at United given that he just turned 30 at the beginning of the month.