(Football news) In a crucial fixture which could potentially determine the top four positions, seventh place Manchester United will take on fourth place West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday, 8:30 pm IST. Ralf Rangnick’s team defeated Brentford 3-1 in their last match while West Ham lost 3-2 to Leeds United at the London Stadium but will take solace in the fact that they have already defeated the Red Devils in the EFL Cup this season. 

Despite being substituted due to a back concern against Brentford, Scott McTominay is expected to feature in the starting XI while Paul Pogba (thigh injury) and Eric Bailly (AFCON) will be unavailable. Luke Shaw and Edinson Cavani suffered a few injury issues in training and are doubtful to feature while Jadon Sancho will be sidelined due to personal reasons and Aaron Wan Bissaka is currently ill. For West Ham, Tomas Soucek has appeared to have recovered from COVID-19 but Mark Noble’s knee injury means he will be unavailable for selection. Said Benrahma is participating in the African Cup of Nations while centre-backs Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma are also expected to be absent.

Reigning champions and league leaders Manchester City will travel to St. Mary’s to face Southampton and will aim to extend their lead with a 13th consecutive win. Nathan Ake is back in contention for City while Oleksandr Zinchenko (knock) and Cole Palmer (fitness) are unlikely to feature. Riyad Mahrez will also be unavailable due to his participation in the African Cup of Nations. Reuben Dias is expected to partner Aymeric Laporte at centre-back while Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and Bernardo Silva are expected to feature in midfield. Jack Grealish could be dropped if Gabriel Jesus starts while Sterling should feature on his preferred left side of the front three.

For Southampton, Theo Walcott and Mohamed Elyounoussi are unavailable after testing positive for COVID-19 while Valentino Livramento and William Smallbone are recovering from knee and calf injuries respectively. Goalkeeper Alex McCarthy is doubtful due to a thigh injury while Moussa Djenepo is currently on AFCON duty. The good news is that Kyle Walker-Peters has recovered from injury and is expected to feature in the starting XI in place of Nathan Tella or Romain Perraud, while either Adam Armstrong or Che Adams could form a partnership with Armando Broja up front.

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