Hello, and welcome to tonight’s liveblog.
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Here are the teams, and interestingly, Wayne Rooney has been left out of Man United’s starting XI.
Asked about leaving Rooney out of the side, Man United manager Louis van Gaal said the decision was tactical.
“With this gameplan, I thought it was better to play with Herrera instead of Rooney,” he told Sky Sports.
We’re underway…
Fellaini appears to be playing behind lone striker Martial in the absence of Rooney.
Stoke have looked bright in the opening stages — this won’t be an easy game for United.
Cameron tries to pick out Arnautivic with a through pass, but he’s ruled offside.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Stoke can exploit Man United’s high line today.
Memphis almost capitalises as Arnautivic’s backpass to Butland is a little short.
The goalkeeper knocks over the Dutch youngster as he clears his lines, but the referee ignores claims for a penalty.
Stoke have had 70% of the possession in the opening 10 minutes.
It’s a rarity for a Van Gaal side to spend so much of the opening period without the ball.
Shaqiri plays a dangerous ball into the box, but no player is in the right position to get on the end of it.
It’s been a nervy start to this game by United.
STOKE 1-0 MAN UNITED (BOJAN 19)
That’s awful from United. Depay’s header back to De Gea falls short and Johnson crosses for Bojan to tap home.
As if the pressure on Van Gaal wasn’t bad enough already, it’s just gone up a notch.
STOKE 2-0 MAN UNITED (ARNAUTOVIC 26)
A free kick is blocked down and the ball falls to Arnautovic, who fires home powerfully from the edge of the box.
This is starting to look very ugly for United fans.
Martial goes down under a challenge from Shawcross but the referee waves play on.
Replays suggest the French youngster took a bit of a dive there.
So close! Bojan plays an exquisite through pass to Arnautovic, who fires narrowly wide.
That would have been game over for United.
The ball falls to Martial on the edge of the box, but his poor effort goes well over the bar.
Half-time can’t come soon enough for these beleaguered Man United players.
United are finally starting to enjoy a spell of pressure in Stoke’s final third.
Shawcross has had to make two last-ditch interventions in recent minutes.
Depay has had a bit of a nightmare in this first half.
In addition to being at fault for the first goal, the Dutch international has given the ball away six times in total.
Mata narrowly fails to pick out Herrera with a clever through pass.
United are belatedly starting to gain control of this match.
HALF-TIME: STOKE 2-0 MAN UNITED
Half-time, and Louis van Gaal’s problems are mounting, as Man United find themselves 2-0 down.
The Red Devils started off nervously and got worse from there, with Stoke capitalising on their vulnerability to secure a deserved, healthy half-time lead.
Van Gaal told Wayne Rooney to get warmed up as the half-time whistle sounded, and it surely won’t be long before we see the England striker on the pitch, as something needs to change.
For the hosts, Shawcross, Arnautovic and Bojan have all enjoyed a magnificent first 45 minutes.
Interestingly, Glenn Whelan has been replaced by Marco van Ginkel for Stoke — that could be down to injury.
Meanwhile, Rooney is on in place of the disappointing Depay.
The second half is underway…
Even Dwight Yorke was sticking the knife in at half-time, describing Memphis’ unwitting contribution to Stoke’s first goal as “one of the worst diving headers you will ever see”.
Meanwhile, Bojan has been rightly booked for diving, as he attempted to win a penalty.
Man United have started this second half with a sense of urgency.
Wollscheid has just made a good interception to cut out a promising attack.
Ashley Young gets away from Pieters but his cross eludes everyone.
Rooney would have been offside anyway.
Another dangerous United cross is lofted into the box, but Shawcross manages to get there ahead of Fellaini.
Down the other end, Stoke launch a promising counter-attack before Arnautovic trods on the ball and concedes possession.
Chance for United! After a patient build-up, a good cross from Rooney picks out Fellaini.
However, the Belgian international ultimately produces a tame first-time effort that’s straight at Jack Butland.
A sign of the way this game’s momentum has shifted, as Stoke make a change. Mame Biram Diouf is on instead of Xherdan Shaqiri.
The possession stats reflect Man United’s growing dominance, as they’ve had 68% of the ball in recent minutes.
More panic in the United defence, as Blind gives the ball away needlessly.
The Red Devils fail to clear their lines, but Afellay’s subsequent shot from the edge of the box is well off target.
Ashley Young makes a good interception to cut out Bojan’s dangerous, curling cross, with Arnautovic lurking.
Man United have just over 15 minutes to pull off an unlikely comeback.
Stoke make their final change as Charlie Adam replaces Geoff Cameron.
Mark Hughes has got his tactics spot on today.
The game’s hit a bit of a lull in these last few minutes.
It feels as if Stoke are content with the scoreline as it is, while United lack the belief to change it.
As I type, Bojan bursts into the box, but his cross is parried away by De Gea.
Charlie Adam whips a free kick just over the bar.
Pereira comes on for Herrera, while Blind looks to be hobbling
Martial’s shot is parried away by Butland, as United desperately search for an equaliser.
Stoke then break but Bojan’s pot shot is comfortably saved by De Gea.
Smalling miskicks and falls over as Diouf prepares to pounce, and the referee awards a free kick.
That looked like a very generous decision from the referee.
Rooney lays it off to Mata, who forces Butland to make a decent save with a first-time effort.
United have picked up just one point in December so far, and that unfortunate trend looks set to continue.
Bojan gets a deserved man-of-the-match award.
The ex-Barcelona man scored the first goal and has been influential throughout.
FULL-TIME: STOKE 2-0 MAN UNITED
So Van Gaal seemingly edges closer to an Old Trafford exit, as his decision to initially leave out Wayne Rooney fails to pay off.
The Red Devils lost the game in the first half, as they were out-fought and out-thought by a patently superior Stoke City side, with Shawcross, Bojan and Arnautovic all starring for Mark Hughes’ well-drilled side.
The visitors tried to rescue the game in the second half, yet never really looked capable of doing so.
LVG’s days may be numbered, but some of the players didn’t cover themselves in glory today.
It’s the first time Man United have lost four consecutive games since 1961, according to Sky.
Right, that’s all from me for now, but we’ll have more reaction to follow.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
