Premier League, Week 24: Manchester United beat Southampton while Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs drop points

Reading soon saw their hard work undone, however, as Mata and Torres once again combined. A one-two between them resulted in Torres’ ball over the top being smartly finished with a low left-footed shot, and Chelsea could go into half-time relieved - Reading, after all, had not looked like creating a thing.

The second half saw little hope of a Reading fightback, and chants soon began to echo around the ground for the introduction of the recently-prolific Adam Le Fondre. Yet before they could be answered, Frank Lampard made the Blues’ position a comfortable one by rising highest to head in from a corner. With Reading barely having had a shot, the game looked over.

Instead, de Gea leapt over the ball, missing it completely, and that left the Saints striker free on goal from a tight angle. The slightly bemused 23-year-old rolled the ball into the empty net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

And Rooney wasn’t done there. United were still on the attack and nearly breached the Saints defence again shortly thereafter when a cross picked him out with his back to goal. Instead of turning and shooting, Rooney instead touched the ball to Kagawa, whose effort beat Boruc but cannoned back off the near post.

The opening spell wasn’t particularly interesting, and although the Canaries held their own against their more illustrious guests they weren’t really generating much in the way of genuine chances. That changed after the half hour mark thanks to some great play from Grant Holt, who did superbly to ensure Robert Snodgrass’s long cross stayed in play, knocking the ball back to Anthony Pilkington.

But it was Bale who ultimately provided the spark that the visitors needed. With Norwich pressed high up the pitch, Defoe found the winger with a layoff, and Bale sprinted straight through the Canaries defensive line -- despite Sebastian Bassong trying to yank him over -- and then unleashed a wonderful effort from just inside the penalty box to draw Spurs level in the 80th minute.

Arsenal and Liverpool were both in serious need of a win at the Emirates, and with both teams excelling in self-sabotage of late, a mutually-destructive draw was perhaps always going to be on the cards.

Liverpool were rocking now, but Arsenal could not find a route to gain their third. Walcott continued to pose Liverpool’s cumbersome defence all sorts of problems, but Giroud came the closest when he was millimetres away from getting on the end of Cazorla’s low cross through the area. As an end-to-end game increasingly drew more towards the visitors’ end than the other, Giroud had a fine chance to seal the comeback late on but miskicked. Liverpool counter-attacked, and the Arsenal defence had capitulated before their break, but neither Henderson nor Downing could find the killer pass either.

Southampton starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Artur Boruc; Nathaniel Clyne, Maya Yoshida, Jos Hooiveld, Danny Fox; Jack Cork, Morgan Schneiderlin; Jason Puncheon, Gastón Ramírez, Rickie Lambert; Jay Rodriguez.

Or dreading something embarrassing happening. That’d be pretty Spursy.

That’s just the individual, tangible problems. More broadly, United have had fewer convincing wins than ever before, have generally found it difficult to play two consecutive halves of good football, and have looked vulnerable at the back.

The most curious feature of this United team is that despite the flaws, they appear to be the ultimate team for all seasons, able to dig themselves out of any situation. It’s a team that has for a long time now been running on the fumes of a ‘winning mentality’, and the sheer art of somehow finding a way, any way throughout the year. A lot of people thought the previous season would be their last, but as they’ve continued for one last hurrah, a winning mentality is virtually all they have left. Fortunately, just as they’ve been left with it as their sole weapon, they appear to have perfected it.

And not only do these players fit his system, but they compliment each other perfectly. Suarez has been forced to make do with Downing, who doesn’t fit the current Liverpool system at all, and Sterling, an über-talented, but raw and not yet developed player flanking him. He will now have a pair of players who fit in with the team perfectly, but compliment him in different ways on either side. Coutinho is a tricky and creative winger who is happy to pass, while Sturridge is a physical beast of a player and a top-drawer finisher. He might be a bit too selfish for his own good (or the good of his team), but he’s combined well with Suarez in early appearances, and their chemistry should only improve with time. All three of Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho bring different skills to the table which should compliment each other perfectly.

Liverpool aren’t anywhere near back to their glory days, and they still have very serious depth problems in defense and at defensive midfield. But as long as Lucas and their defenders stay healthy, there’s no reason to believe Liverpool can’t make a top four charge. Sturridge and Coutinho, along with the fitness of their defensive players, should keep Liverpool firmly in the top seven.

The last time these two teams met, Soton had a 2-1 lead in the second half before conceding twice late in a 3-2 loss.

Manchester United injuries and suspensions

Spurs crashed out thanks to a solid beating from Championship side Leeds United while Norwich became the first Premier League team to lose in the cup to a non-league side. The Canaries definitely suffered the more embarrassing defeat, but who bounces back better from their disappointing performance should have the edge in this one.

New Spurs signing Lewis Holtby from Schalke 04 in Germany could make his debut tonight.

Reading injuries and suspensions

Chelsea injuries and suspensions

Arsenal injuries and suspensions

Liverpool injuries and suspensions

Unfortunately for the Villains, their great play didn’t produce a second goal. Benteke set up Weimann with an incredible square ball in the 60th minute, but Krul came up with a stunning save. Benteke had a couple of other close misses throughout the game, which have sadly become commonplace for him this season.

But despite the mauling that their centre back had received, the Potters pushed onwards and were rewarded with the opening goal. Wigan’s marking was nowhere to be found on a Charlie Adam set piece, and the ball eventually fell to Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross, who scrambled past Ali Al-Habsi to make it 1-0.

Despite both sides pushing for the winner, neither would be able to break the deadlock, and the match would finish in a 2-2 draw.

As the cliché goes, the problem with qualifying for big cup finals in advance is that since nobody wants to get injured and thus plays timidly, league form immediately drops away. On that basis, it would be difficult to tell which of these two sides were lining up to face the mighty Bradford City in the League Cup Final.

Sunderland initially started the second half the better side, but once again Swansea came back on the attack, Michu turning provider as he laid on a chance for Nathan Dyer, but the winger couldn’t produce a finish worthy and the chance disappeared.

Prédiction: Unis Nouveauchâteau, 3-1

Pick: City, 2-0