LIVE: MAN UTD 0-0 STOKE CITY

KEY EVENTSALL

2'Plenty of possession early on for Van Gaal’s side, as expected, with the Potters yet to see the ball. A couple of deliveries into the box have been dealt with by the visitors so far as crosses from the left and a dinked ball from deep by Mata are cleared away from danger.
1'KICK OFF! Manchester United get the game underway, shooting from left to right.
We have both sets of players out on the pitch now with handshakes and formalities completed. United are 10 points behind league-leaders Leicester City on 47 and will hope to bounce back from defeat to Southampton with a win. Sitting in ninth, Stoke can move to within a point of their fifth-placed rivals today with victory.
Mark Hughes, on the other hand, makes eight changes from the side that lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup over the weekend with only Phillipp Wollscheid, Erik Pieters and Bojan Krkic keeping their places in the starting line-up. Marc Muniesa is fit enough to return from injury while top goalscorer Marko Arnautovic returns in attack. Xherdan Shaqiri is on the bench.
Van Gaal makes two alterations from the side that beat Derby 3-1 in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday. Young right-back Guillermo Varela may count himself unlucky to drop to the bench having impressed against the Rams but he sees his place taken by the returning Matteo Darmian. Morgan Schneiderlin is the other change with Michael Carrick fully recovering from a knee injury.
Substitutes: Bardsley, Ireland, Odemwingie, Joselu, Diouf, Shaqiri, Haugaard.
Stoke City XI (4-3-2-1): Butland; Johnson, Wollscheid, Muniesa, Pieters; Whelan, Afellay; Walters, Bojan, Arnautovic; Crouch.
Substitutes: Depay, Romero, Ander Herrera, Schneiderlin, Varela, McNair, Andreas Pereira.
Manchester United  XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson; Carrick, Fellaini; Lingard, Mata, Martial; Rooney.
Louis van Gaal's men were booed off last time out in the Premier League as they suffered defeat at home to Southampton – and a similar result tonight would only increase speculation over his job security. His side host the Potters tonight looking to avenge a Boxing Day defeat after goals from Bojan Krkic and Marko Arnautovic wrapped up a 2-0 victory at the Britannia Stadium.
A very good evening and a warm welcome to our LIVE commentary from the Premier League as Manchester United host Stoke City at Old Trafford. We have kick-off arriving in just over 30 minutes.