Mitch Freeley

Manchester United dropped to third in the Premier League, after an uninspiring 0-0 draw against Southampton. Romulu Lukaku left early with a head injury, but United looked dangerous in the first half. Matic brought out a great save from Saints debutant Alex McCarthy, whilst substitute Rashford and Jesse Lingard was guilty of missing key chances for United.

The Saints, who lost Virgil van Dijk earlier in the week looked resolute in defence thanks to a commanding performance from Wesley Hoedt, who seems like a readymade replacement for the Liverpool bound defender. Despite the Saints defending well, they did ride their luck when the referee ruled away reasonable shout for a penalty after a handball from Maya Yoshida.

Southampton could have taken the lead early in the second half, however, Shane Long was denied by the boot of United stopper David de Gea. United lacked attacking intent in the second half but did have the ball in the back of the net. A scuffed shot from Matic was poked in from close range by Paul Pogba, but the effort from the United captain was rightly ruled for offside ten minutes from time.Manchester United simply did not do enough to warrant the points, and now drop to third following the draw. Mourinho will now have to rouse his side for the challenge of Everton, which will take place in just 48 hours. 

Live Updates 

Full time- honours even between United and Saints 0-0 

90 Wesley Hoedt has been superb for the Saints today in the centre for defence. Headed everything thrown at him today 

89 Long balls into the box time from United, it all looks a little desperate from Jose's side

86 Grumbles from the Old Trafford faithful. United have about 7 minutes to save this match, they have lacked much-attacking threat during this second half

84 Those tricky feet of Boufal are making way for Nathan Redmond. Final sub by Southampton

81 Saints Sub! Mario Lemina is on for Dušan Tadić

80 Disallowed goal for United! Pogba pokes the ball home, rightly ruled offside

77 Sub from the Saints! Manolo Gabbiadini is on for Shane Long. 

78 Corner for Manchester United comes with nothing rebounds off Rashford

75 Chance for Southampton. Neat build-up play, falls to Tadić the Serbian's shot squirts wide

69 Another Matic pot shot! Unsurprisingly it's well wide.

66 Effort from Ashley Young flashes wide

65 Instant impact from Martial, he has won a free-kick in a dangerous position

63 Anthony Martial is coming on for Mkhitaryan

61 Another shanked cross from Mkhitaryan, the Armenian hasn't had the best game today. 

60 Yellow for Lingard! United are getting a bit tetchy at the moment.

57 Yellow card for Boufal, the tricky winger bundles down former tricky winger Ashley Young

54 Southampton is more than holding their own here. Could they sneak a 1-0 win for the third time in fourth matches in games against to Man United? 

49 Chance for Shane Long! The Irish striker looked set to score his first goal in months, well saved by the boot of de Gea. 

Second half! We are back underway at Old Trafford! 

45 +6 Halftime at Old Trafford! Romalu Lukaku was stretchered off early with a head injury, however, United still dominated with chances from Lingard and Substitute Rashford, and have a reasonable shout for a penalty after a handball from Maya Yoshida, which was waved away by the referee. 0-0.

45 Six minutes of extra time to be played, that's down to the Lukaku injury. 

43 Best cross of the night from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jesse Lingard flicks his header just wide. That was close! 

40 Boufal looks like he could be a handful for the United defence today. Tricky feet. 

37 Matic pot shot! The man with short sleeves and gloves (The dream combo) fires the ball well over. 

32 Penalty claim?! United fans are screaming for one as Maya Yoshida seems to handle the ball in the box.The referee waves it away! 

29 Tricky from Ashley Young on the wing, his cross is nodded wide by Rashford

26 Mata with the shot! The ball rebounded to the midfielder! Well saved by Saints debutant Alex Mcarthy

21 Free header for Hoedt! If the Dutch defender had a better contact with the ball, that could of been the opener! 

19 United on the break from the corner, lead by Rashford, unfortunately, Henrikh Mkhitaryan's cross goes out of play

18 Save de Gea! Smart Save from the Spanish stopper to deny James Ward-Prowse

15 A dangerous ball across the six-yard box from former Southampton man Luke Shaw. Rashford couldn't quite latch onto the ball.

14 Back underway after a six-minute delay

12 Lukaku won't be carrying on. Marcus Rashford comes on as Lukaku is stretchered off. 

6 Lukaku is sprawled out on the turf, looks like a nasty clash of heads with Wesley Hoedt. Marcus Rashford is getting warmed up. It doesn't look good for the Belgian. 

3 Chance United! Mata clips in a perfect cross. Lukaku heads just over. The Belgian international should of got that on target. 

2 Matic who is wearing the dreamy combo of a short shirt and gloves is bundled down for a free kick. 

Kick Off! We are underway at Old Trafford! 

Pre Match 

Minutes away from kick-off! Can Southampton pull off a shock? 

Just under 15 minutes to kick-off at Old Trafford! If Live updates ain't for you, why not watch the game Live via beIN SPORTS CONNECT. 

Now for the Saints! 

Keeper Alex McCarthy gets his first Premier League start for the Saints! Fraser Forester starts on the bench.  

The teams are in!

Here's the #SaintsFC side for the clash with #MUFC: pic.twitter.com/bqP3EL3Ehs — Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 30, 2017

TEAM NEWS! First up Man United. 

Lingard gets the starting nod after his two goals against Burnley. He's joined with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Victor Lindelöf in the three changes made by the Red Devils. 

  The team news is in! Here's how #MUFC line up for our final match of 2017... #MUNSOU pic.twitter.com/WoGv9Sytat — Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 30, 2017

Hello, welcome to the live coverage of Manchester United Vs Southampton. Plenty of interesting narratives from today's match. Can the Saints cope after van Dijk? Can United return to winning ways? Will Jose Mourinho crack a smile? All will be revealed later tonight in Manchester! 

Preview

Manchester United take on Southampton on Saturday evening looking to get back to winning ways following two straight 2-2 draws against Leicester and Burnley. The Red Devils are looking to cut down the biggest gap between the top two sides after twenty games in a top-flight season. As ever, Jose Mourinho was up to his usual tricks after the press conference insisting that his Manchester United side has not spent enough money compared to runaway league rivals Manchester City. As ever, you can watch the match live with beIN SPORTS CONNECT. 

In team news, United are expected to be without Anthony Martial and Matteo Darmian for the game despite returning to training over the week. Mourinho also revealed that he doesn’t plan to rest striker Romalu Lukaku, despite admitting that the summer signing had been tired in recent weeks. 

Jesse Lingard could be a key man for United as they look to end 2017 on a high. The England international has scored three times in his last three Premier League games, including a brace last time out to save Man United blushes against Burnley. Southampton has not won in their last 7 attempts away from home this season, and United will be confident that they can find the back of the net against the Saints. 

As for Southampton, they will be without defender Virgil van Dijk who is set to move to Liverpool in a reported 75 million pound deal. Southampton will also be without Charlie Austin through suspension. However, a hamstring injury may rule him out for a little longer. Left-back Ryan Bertrand will have his hamstring problem assessed.

Southampton has recent history on their side heading into the match at Old Trafford. Mauricio Pellegrino's side has won two of the last three league meetings at Old Trafford, both by a 1-0 scoreline. However more pressing for Saints fans will be their recent league form, especially in front of goal having only won once in eleven league games and only scoring eleven goals during that period. 

Dušan Tadić will have to perform if his side is to come away with anything from Manchester. Burnley showed last time that working hard, particularly in midfield to quell the influence of Paul Pogba. The Serbian international will be charged but keeping United's number 6 quiet, whilst pushing forward and helping score for the goal-shy Saints. 

Man United 

Provisional squad- De Gea, Romero, Pereira, Tuanzebe, Darmian, Jones, Smalling, Lindelof, Young, Rojo, Shaw, Blind, McTominay, Pogba, Herrera, Matic, Lingard, Martial, Rashford, Mata, Mkhitaryan, Lukaku, Ibrahimovic.

Southampton

Provisional squad: Forster, McCarthy, Taylor, Hoedt, Stephens, Yoshida, Gardos, Pied, McQueen, Romeu, Bertrand, Lemina, Hojbjerg, Ward-Prowse, Davis, Boufal, Tadic, Redmond, Long, Gabbiadini.