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18 min: … nothing occurs. Meanwhile at Portman Road it’s HALF TIME: Ipswich Town 0-0 Brighton & Hove Albion.
17 min: Garnacho dances in from the right and tees up Bruno Fernandes, who opens his body and aims a curler towards the top right. A deflection sends the ball off target and out for a corner. From which …
16 min: Ugochukwu spins around Ugarte in the centre circle and slips the ball to Mateus Fernandes, who barges his way down the inside-left channel before whistling a shot goalwards. Straight at Onana, who gathers.
14 min: … and this may explain why: Southampton have enjoyed 67 percent of possession during the last five minutes.
13 min: Southampton have managed to quieten Old Trafford already. The away fans making plenty of noise at the moment; the home supporters not so much.
12 min: Sulemana shows Yoro the ball on the left before ripping past him with absurd ease. He enters the box, opens his body, and looks for the far corner with a low curler. Onana bats the shot away with a strong arm. First big chance for the Saints!
11 min: Saints are slowly growing in confidence. Sugawara dribbles down the right but can’t find anybody in the middle with his low cross.
10 min: The free kick is a non-event, Mateus Fernandes’ delivery failing to beat the first man Martinez.
9 min: Martinez lunges in late on Mateus Fernandes, who was threatening down the right flank. He accidentally stands on his foot, and has the chutzpah to look amazed when the free kick is awarded. Everyone lines up on the edge of the box.
8 min: Sulemana advances confidently down the left and looks to have been tugged back by Ugarte, but he doesn’t get the decision. He’s not particularly chuffed either.
6 min: It’s Bree versus Garnacho again, this time in the United half. Bree clips Garnacho late. The United winger isn’t happy but the referee makes do with a stern word.
James Bree chases down Alejandro Garnacho in the Southampton box. Photograph: Dave Thompson/AP
4 min: Bruno Fernandes drives down the left and feeds Garnacho on the overlap. Garnacho nearly gets past Bree, but just before he reaches the byline, Bree sticks out a toe and diverts the ball out for a corner. Fernandes takes it, and swings it viciously towards the near stick, where Ramsdale punches clear under pressure. United will be pleased with their lively start.
2 min: Diallo embarks on the first positive run of the evening, down the inside-right channel. The crowd get excited … then Diallo slaps a wayward pass meant for Bruno Fernandes on the touchline out for a throw. Onwards and upwards.
United get the ball rolling. Saints are kicking towards the Stretford End in this first half.
The teams are out! Manchester United in their red, white and black, Southampton in second-choice yellow and black. A cracking evening atmosphere at Old Trafford. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes. Incidentally it’s still goalless at Portman Road between Ipswich and Brighton.
Southampton manager Ivan Jurić speaks to TNT. “We played well [against Swansea] … we can repeat and play well again … we have to be perfect against Manchester United … press well, play forward, have personality to play from the back … they are a great team with great players and it will be very tough.”
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim talks to TNT. “The feeling is a little bit different [after the results against Liverpool and Arsenal] … it is going to be a tough match at home … our fans expect more from us and that is extra pressure … but we are ready to face the game in the right way … we have to be better with the ball … control the game … last game we were not better with the ball … we try to improve … Harry [Maguire] is tired … he had a tough week and was ill but still played … I think Southampton will play without a striker but more speed … Leny [Yoro] is quick and a top talent … he is ready to play … in this stadium [Southampton] don’t have the pressure … the pressure is on our team … they have very good players … I want to see my team play very good football for the fans to enjoy.”
Manchester United have lost their last three games at home: 2-3 v Nottingham Forest, 0-3 v Bournemouth and 0-2 v Newcastle United. If they lose tonight to extend that run to four, it’ll be their worst league sequence at Old Trafford in the top flight since 1930, when they lost the final game of the 1929-30 season 1-5 v Sheffield Wednesday, then started their 1930-31 home campaign thus …
- 3-4 v Aston Villa
- 0-6 v Huddersfield Town
- 4-7 v Newcastle United
- 0-2 v Grimsby Town
- 1-2 v Arsenal
… so they’ve still got a way to go if they’re to break new ground there. Pressure’s off. Incidentally, that 1930-31 season was by far the most risible in United’s history – they lost their first dozen matches straight – and there’s a bit more about it in the second entry of this.
The Joy of Six: Leeds United v Manchester United matches
Going into tonight’s fixtures, the Premier League table looks like this. Not particularly great reading for Manchester United supporters; thoroughly painful viewing for Southampton fans. The other game this evening is Ipswich Town v Brighton & Hove Albion (7.30pm) which we’ll keep you posted about.
Manchester United make three changes to their starting XI after the FA Cup win at Arsenal. André Onana reclaims his place in goal at Emirates hero Altay Bayındır’s expense, while Leny Yoro and Amad Diallo step up, Harry Maguire drops to the bench, and Diogo Dalot misses out through suspension after his red card last weekend.
Southampton make one change to the team that swatted aside Swansea City 3-0 in the Cup. Yukinari Sugawara comes in for Ryan Manning, who drops to the bench.
Manchester United: Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Yoro, Diallo, Ugarte, Mainoo, Garnacho, Fernandes, Hojlund.
Subs: Bayindir, Kukonki, Maguire, Malacia, Casemiro, Collyer, Eriksen, Antony, Zirkzee.
Southampton: Ramsdale, Sugawara, Bree, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Ugochukwu, Fernandes, Aribo, Walker-Peters, Dibling, Sulemana.
Subs: McCarthy, Manning, Wood, Smallbone, Downes, Lallana, Armstrong, Archer, Onuachu.
Yes, yes, all the humorists are calling it a relegation battle. But let’s be serious, so never mind them. Not that Manchester United are doing well, exactly, down in the not-recently-charted waters of 15th spot. But a win tonight over the doomed Saints would spring them up to 12th, and within swinging distance of the top half of the table. Thin gruel for a club of United’s stature and history, but this is where they are right now, though a couple of street-fighting results against big rivals in Liverpool and Arsenal have got Ruben Amorim and his men looking upwards towards the light once more. Rock-bottom Southampton, who have lost 12 of their last 15 Premier League matches, winning just one, and were beaten 3-0 by United on their own turf back in September, will most likely settle for a dignified defeat. Then again, football being what it is, you never know, and the Saints have given the Red Devils an unexpected bloody nose more than once before, as this retro edition of the Joy of Six illustrates. Kick-off at Old Trafford is at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
