Saha to debut for United

Manchester United v Southampton

Louis Saha was handed his debut by Alex Ferguson today as the Manchester United boss looked to put his off-field worries behind him and return the Red Devils to the top of the Barclaycard Premiership.

Saha teamed up with Ruud van Nistelrooy to leave Southampton facing a £30m (€44m) strikeforce and account for two of the five changes from the side which defeated Northampton in the FA Cup last weekend.

Roy Keane (captain) partnered Phil Neville in midfield, while Tim Howard returned in goal as Roy Carroll was relegated to the bench along with Nicky Butt who looks set to stay at Old Trafford for the rest of the season.

With just a single point from their last two goalless league games, United were looking to record their customary win over Southampton – for whom manager Gordon Strachan was bidding farewell to his old club ahead of his impending retirement.