Early Team News: United v Southampton

Marcos Rojo is available to face Southampton on Saturday, despite the Manchester United defender receiving a fifth yellow card of the Premier League season on Boxing Day.

The Argentina international was rather harshly cautioned by referee Martin Atkinson in just the second minute of the Boxing Day draw against Burnley at Old Trafford – our 20th league match.

Many supporters initially believed that had triggered a ban for Rojo, but Premier League rules state that “Matchweek 19 marks the halfway point of the 2017/18 season and is the final round of matches when receiving a fifth booking of the campaign can result in a one-match ban.”

This stroke of good luck – or good timing, more accurately – is a boost for Jose Mourinho with Eric Bailly already out for several months after undergoing surgery on an injury he suffered with Ivory Coast.

Fellow centre-back Chris Smalling also missed our last match due to injury, after seemingly hurting his groin in the latter stages of Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if Matteo Darmian and Anthony Martial are fit for selection, after both players were omitted from the 18-man squad that was named to face Burnley.

Right-back and regular captain Antonio Valencia is presumably still missing with the hamstring problem that he sustained in the recent victory over West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.

Central midfielders Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick are not expected to return over the Christmas period, as the manager explained earlier this month.

WHAT ABOUT SOUTHAMPTON?

Virgil van Dijk is one player who will definitely not face United following Wednesday evening’s announcement that he is set to join Liverpool, reportedly for an eye-watering fee of £75million.

Saints manager Mauricio Pellegrino also fears that striker Charlie Austin is set to be sidelined for some weeks with a hamstring injury that he suffered against Huddersfield Town last Saturday.

The visitors are without a Premier League win since beating Everton on 26 November and, since then, they have gone seven matches without a victory. They suffered a painful 5-2 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last time out, on Boxing Day, when Harry Kane scored a hat-trick for Spurs.