Given Ruben Amorim's stance so far on what he wants from his squad, will Marcus Rashford miss out again later and be off in January?

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In-stadium VAR announcements will be trialled in the Carabao Cup semi-finals which start next week, the PGMOL have announced.

A first in English football, referees will announce the final decision following a visit to the VAR pitchside monitor or upon the conclusion of factual matters such as accidental handball by a goalscorer or offside offences where the attacker touches the ball.

The trial, which forms part of the PGMOL's broader commitment to transparency including providing greater clarity and understanding around key decisions, will run over both legs of the Arsenal v Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool ties.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter

There has been no suggestion of a return to Ruben Amorim's Manchester United squad for Marcus Rashford since he was axed for the Manchester derby earlier this month.

Evidently, the response has not been to trigger the greater focus in training Amorim has demanded.

However, tonight, United face Newcastle, having lost successive games against Tottenham, Bournemouth and Wolves. In addition, they are without skipper Bruno Fernandes and midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who are both suspended.

Given form and the reduction of senior players, if Rashford is not included for the final game before the transfer window opens, it is difficult to see a way back for the England man.

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Have you seen an improvement under new Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim? Is he right to say without wins his job could be in danger at this early stage?

Get in touch using the usual methods.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim says the vast expense of bringing him in will not shield him from the sack if he fails to produce a winning team.

While United sources stress there is total support for the new boss inside Old Trafford, recent results and performances have made some fans nervous.

Away supporters booed their team at the final whistle of the 2-0 defeat by Wolves at Molineux on Boxing Day, and with many exiting quickly it left the players to acknowledge hundreds of empty yellow seats before heading to the tunnel.

"The manager of Manchester United can never, no matter what, be comfortable," said Amorim.

"You can argue I have been here one month and I've had four training [sessions], but we are not winning. That is the reality.

"I know that if we don't win, regardless if they pay the buyout or not, every manager is in danger, I like that because that is the job."

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• Manchester United could lose three consecutive league matches at home for the first time since December 1978 to February 1979. They last conceded three or more goals in three successive league fixtures at Old Trafford in October 1962.

• The Red Devils have not lost three league games in a row without scoring since May 2015.

• They are aiming to avoid suffering five league defeats in the same month for the first time since September 1962.

• United have only lost their final Premier League game of a year once at Old Trafford, a 3-2 defeat by Blackburn in 2011.

• They are finishing a calendar year lower than seventh in the table for the first time since 1989, when they were 15th.

• Their tally of 22 points after 18 matches means they are guaranteed to set a new club record for the lowest points at the halfway stage of a Premier League season, beating their previous mark of 28 in 2019-20.

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Manchester United are without suspended midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte for this evening's match against Newcastle United.

Victor Lindelof, Mason Mount and Luke Shaw remain on the sidelines for Ruben Amorim's side.

Newcastle right-back Tino Livramento missed the Boxing Day win over Aston Villa due to illness but he should be available again.

Sven Botman is closing in on a first-team return but Emil Krafth, Jamaal Lascelles, Nick Pope and Callum Wilson are still out.

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Liverpool have faced a blip in their last six Premier League fixtures - if you can call drawing two games rather than winning a blip, that is.

Despite dropping four points, the numbers they have put up have been staggering.

They have averaged 3.5 goals a game, scoring 21 times in the last six. That's the same number of goals Manchester United have scored in their opening 18 Premier League fixtures and more than Southampton, Ipswich, Everton and Crystal Palace.

And while Mohamed Salah has rightfully been picking up plenty of plaudits, he isn't the only source of goals with the Reds having eight different scorers over those matches alone.

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Liverpool manager Arne Slot, speaking to Sky Sports about Trent Alexander-Arnold's goal celebration:

"He's playing really well, scored a great goal and the way he celebrated his goal probably tells you enough, so I don't think I have to say much more about it.

"I'm really happy with Trent, just as happy as I am with Mo and with Virgil, so for me there's no difference.

"For the outside world, maybe there's a bit more things happening around Trent in the media than with the other two, but yeah, I'm happy with all three of them at the moment."

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Trent Alexander-Arnold ramped up speculation on his future once more after his goal celebration in Liverpool's 5-0 victory against West Ham.

The right-back is one of the Reds' three big-hitters yet to sign a new contract at Anfield and has been heavily linked to a move to Real Madrid in recent weeks.

Is a move to Spain purely just rumours, though? That's what Alexander-Arnold appeared to insinuate after he smashed home Liverpool's fourth goal of the day at the London Stadium.

He ran off to celebrate and immediately put his right hand to his head with the classic "all talk" gesture.

Or does it mean something else?

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Wolves are keen on Club Brugge's Joel Ordonez and Lens' Kevin Danso as they look to improve their defensive options.

The centre-backs are high on Wolves' wanted list for January with new boss Vitor Pereira - who has taken seven points from his opening three games in charge - eager for reinforcements.

Wolves are 17th in the Premier League and have conceded 42 goals in 19 games, the joint-worst defence in the division with Leicester.

Ordonez, 20, and Danso, 26, have been tracked for a while and the club's interest pre-dates Pereira's arrival, after he replaced Gary O'Neil earlier this month.

Austria international Danso, who was in the academies at MK Dons and Reading, also spent time on loan at Southampton in 2019-20 and joined Lens from Augsburg in 2021.

Ordonez, an Ecuador international, has been at Club Brugge since 2023 after starting his career at Independiente del Valle.

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A little bit more reaction from Sunday's football is set to come, with what Arne Slot thought about Trent Alexander-Arnold's celebration against West Ham.

We will then turn our attention to the football later, focusing on Manchester United against Newcastle at about 14:45 GMT.

Bournemouth continued the knack of scoring late at Fulham, with Dango Ouattara's equaliser coming in the 89th minute.

That was the Cherries' 11th goal in the last 15 minutes of matches this season.

"We normally finish strong," said manager Andoni Iraola. "We value the subs and what they give us. Today I am very proud of the players because we were in a very difficult situation. If anyone deserved to win today it was more Bournemouth than Fulham."

Fulham manager Marco Silva was not completely happy with his side's performance against Bournemouth after they failed to take their chances when leading 2-1, before conceding a late equaliser.

It was a fifth draw in their seven-match unbeaten run.

"We should have more impact on the table with more points," argued Silva. "But seven games unbeaten at the level we are playing...is a great run from ourselves. With more points, it would be perfect."

During their run of seven games unbeaten in the Premier League, both Fulham and Bournemouth have taken points off some of the division's top sides.

Fulham's seven games unbeaten:

• Tottenham 1-1 Fulham
• Fulham 3-1 Brighton
• Fulham 1-1 Arsenal
• Liverpool 2-2 Fulham
• Fulham 0-0 Southampton
• Chelsea 1-2 Fulham
• Fulham 2-2 Bournemouth

Bournemouth's unbeaten run:

• Wolves 2-4 Bournemouth
• Bournemouth 1-0 Tottenham
• Ipswich 1-2 Bournemouth
• Bournemouth 1-1 West Ham
• Man Utd 0-3 Bournemouth
• Bournemouth 0-0 Crystal Palace
• Fulham 2-2 Bournemouth

NB: Bournemouth had previously beaten Manchester City and Arsenal before beginning their current unbeaten run.

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Fulham and Bournemouth both extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to seven matches after the Cherries fought back to draw 2-2 at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

The point left Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth side in sixth place, on 30 points, while Marco Silva's in-form Fulham are a point back in eighth.

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Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, speaking to BBC Match of the Day on judging the performance not result: "I think I have to. I wouldn't do the players credit if I didn't. We're professional we know it's about results but we have to look through that because of the performance today.

"It's continuing things and how we are pressing, building up and doing our things and roles of the individuals are clear and they are developing. The important thing is looking at it that way. We have to be judged on results and translate performances into results."

Positive signs?: "Not just this game. The Wolves game at home was a good performance if you take out individual mistakes. The first goal today is not a chance and an individual incident gives them the goal. That's what is costing us at the moment, without putting the blame on someone, but that is something we have to look at."

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Leicester have picked up four points from a possible 18 in Ruud van Nistelrooy's first six games in charge but are yet to win since his debut in the dugout.

They have scored six goals in those matches and conceded 15 times.

• Leicester 3-1 West Ham
• Leicester 2-2 Brighton
• Newcastle 4-0 Leicester
• Leicester 0-3 Wolves
• Liverpool 3-1 Leicester
• Leicester 0-2 Man City

In their previous six Premier League fixtures under former manager Steve Cooper, they also picked up four points from a possible 18.

Across those matches, they scored nine goals and conceded 15.