Manchester United secure ugly victory against Brighton as Tottenham limp to draw with West Brom

FULL-TIME

The final whistles are blowing around the grounds. Manchester United won ugly against Brighton, Tottenham were frustrated by West Brom, Swansea drew with Bournemouth, Watford hammered Newcastle while Crystal Palace left it late to beat Stoke.

That's it for IB Times UK's coverage of the 3pm kick-offs, but do stick around for updates of Liverpool vs Chelsea.

GOAL! Crystal Palace 2-1 Stoke City (Sako)

How vital could that be! Sako makes no mistake from close range.

Brighton should equalise!

Duffy connects with a free-kick but heads over. A golden opportunity for the Irishman, and he knows it.

Harry Kane has been scored or assisted 100 goals in his 128 Premier League games.

87 goals, 13 assists.

Brighton roll the dice, bringing on Izquierdo for March, but it's United who are on the offensive. Valencia brushes past his man and crosses, shouts of handball waved away.

Mourinho looking to consolidate, with Rashford coming off for Fellaini.

GOAL! Tottenham 1-1 West Brom (Kane)

Who else? Smart finish from Kane brings Spurs level after good work from Alli.

United turning the screw now, with Young heavily involved in things again as he surges into the box. His teasing delivery races across the six-yard box, evading Lukaku.

Not Premier League related, but Schalke, who were 4-0 down after 25 minutes against arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund, have equalised to make it 4-4 in the 95th min of stoppage time.

Football's a strange game.

GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Brighton (Young)

Young takes a shot from the edge of the area, it hits Dunk and deflects wildly away from Ryan. A bitter blow for Brighton, who had looked a little disjointed in the second half.

GOAL! Newcastle 0-3 Watford (Gray)

Superb for Watford, really really poor from Benitez's men.

Mourinho has rolled the dice; Ibrahimovic is on for Mata. Will he provide the killer touch?

GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-1 Stoke City (Loftus-Cheek)

The man of the moment at Selhurst Park!

Townsend whips in a ball, Shawcross fails to clear and Loftus Cheek side foots it home. He couldn't miss, but his rich vein of form continues!

GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-1 Stoke City (Shaqiri)

A superb solo effort from Shaqiri downs Palace, who have been poor this afternoon.

Rashford tries to be the spark that breaks down a well-oiled Brighton backline but his cutback for Lukaku is cleared away by Bruno. United haven't been overly imaginative so far - could Zlatan be the man to change things?

Back underway at Old Trafford. Brighton start brightly as Knockaert and Gross link up well, but the latter's delivery could not be converted by Murray, who has suffered a number of near misses this afternoon.

While Hughes has helped Watford to a 2-0 lead at Newcastle. Goalless elsewhere.

Afternoon delight for Megson and co, courtesy of Rondon...

Goalless at a rain-soaked Old Trafford...

HALF-TIME

We've reached the interval around the grounds. Not an awful lot of action, with West Brom and Watford the only sides to find the scoresheet so far. Let's hope for more action in the second period.

GOAL! Newcastle United 0-2 Watford (Own goal)

Zeegelaar races past Newcastle's defender before cutting the ball back, and Yedlin can't prevent the ball coming in off him.

Phenomenal double save from Ryan as he saves from Luaku's header before denying Pogba with his leg! Some late pressure from United as we head into half-time.

Young beats Knockaert and Gross to surge into the box, but he can't conjure anything meaningful. Moments away from half-time.

It's a real battle at Old Trafford.

United come forward through Valencia, who shirks away from March. The Ecuadorian stands one up for Lukaku, who heads wide. Coming up to half-time, Mourinho will not be happy with what he has seen.

Knockaert's been man-of-the-match so far. The winger jinks inside Young before turning inside, but he can't get the shot off. He then tries to find Propper, but Smalling just about clears the danger.

A couple of free-kicks for both sides, but they come to nothing. Knockaert's delivery is cleared by Lukaku, while Rashford's set-piece could only find a man in blue and white. 0-0 after 30 minutes.

United look to threaten Brighton through Mata but his cross is headed feebly by Lukaku, whose effort is gobbled up by Ryan. Smelling was behind Lukaku and looked a better bet to score, but strikers will be strikers.

20 minutes gone, and Brighton have been much the better side so far. United perhaps suffering from a European hangover.

March and Knockaert are causing the Red Devils a few problems, but the Seagulls have not yet managed to truly test De Gea.

GOAL! Newcastle United 0-1 Watford (Hughes)

Zeegelar cuts the ball back for Hughes, who finishes expertly to give Marco Silva's men the lead.

Pogba shapes up from distance but his 35-yard effort fails to trouble Ryan, who watched it fly. Not a great start from United, but Hughton will be delighted with what he has seen so far.

De Gea called into action from Gross, whose low shot is saved fairly comfortably by the Spaniard. The visitors are asking the questions at Old Trafford as we approach quarter of an hour.

Brighton give possession away cheaply to Valencia, who finds Pogba. The Frenchman looks to put the ball into a dangerous area, but Bruno manages to clear.

United now composed and going through the gears after Brighton's early score. Mourinho's men are beginning to control possession, but no chances have been made yet.

GOAL! Tottenham 0-1 West Brom (Rondon)

A remarkable turn of events! Rondon gives manageress West Brom the lead at Wembley. Poor from Sanchez and Alli as Livermore feeds the Venezuelan, who finishes well past Lloris.

Brighton attack first, and Knockaert should set Murray up to score. The former Leicester star drove into the area but failed to pick out the forward with a cross - if he found him it would surely have been 1-0.

We are underway!

The teams have emerged from their respective tunnels. Kick-off just moments away.

Again, not Premier League related, but Borussia Dortmund are 3-0 up against Schalke inside 20 minutes.

Peter Bosz's men have struggled severely in recent weeks, but all will be forgotten if they romp to victory today!

Mr Alli is present and correct at Wembley.

Just 10 minutes until the 3pm action gets under way. A reminder of the clashes:

Some news unrelated to the Premier League, but it should strike a chord with any football fan.

Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi has committed his future to the Blaugrana, signing a new four-year contract with a €700m release clause.

The Argentine remains where he belongs.

Interesting. Martial certainly more effective against tired legs, though he did start and score against Newcastle last week. Can he continue in that vein today?

Credit to Bwin for this link, too. For more: http://bit.ly/2Bced46

All is not lost for United and Tottenham should they fall behind...

Credit to Bwin for this graphic, more of which can be found here: http://bit.ly/2Bced46

As if Chris Hughton's side didn't have their work cut out already...

Some words from Mourinho on Pogba: You could see he played 65 minutes in both. We don't want to let him go into fatigue levels. He needs still a little bit of protection & maybe today we go in the same direction"

The decorations are up at Old Trafford, but who will be full of festive cheer come 5pm?

There is no Mousa Dembele for Tottenham; the midfielder struggles for fitness hamper his ability to start regularly, and Pochettino has seen fit to take him out of the firing line after he began the matches against Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund.

Winks comes in for the Belgian, and he may be partnered with Dele Alli, who could be set to play in slightly deeper role today.

For West Brom, Christ Brunt misses out through injury, but there is a start for the promising Sam Field. Matty Phillips and Jay Rodriguez will look to give Salomon Rondon support in attack.

So Manchester United have named the same team that ran out 4-1 victors over Newcastle last weekend. Paul Pogba will roam the engine room, though there may be a slight concern over his fitness given that this game will be his third start in a week, having only just come back from injury.

Lindelof and Smalling start in the heart of defence with Marcos Rojo dropped to the bench, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not fit to start: Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford make up a devilish three-pronged attack.

TEAM NEWS

Crystal Palace: Hennessey, Ward, Milivojevic, Tomkins, Cabaye, Loftus-Cheek, Townsend, Zaha, Sakho (c), Schlupp, McArthur.

Stoke City: Grant, Pieters, Allen, Wimmer, Zouma, Choupo-Moting, Shawcross (c), Diouf, Shaqiri, Fletcher, Sobhi.

TEAM NEWS:

Newcastle United: Elliot, Clark, Murphy, Shelvey (c), Gayle, Diame, Ritchie, Manquillo, Lejeune, Joselu, Yedlin.

Watford: Gomes (c), Britos, Mariappa, Cleverley, Richarlison, Doucoure, Gray, Hughes, Femenia, Zeegelaar, Kabasele.

TEAM NEWS

Bournemouth: Begovic, Daniels, Ake, S. Cook, Smith, Pugh, Surman, Arter, Ibe, King, Wilson.

Swansea City: Fabianski, Naughton, Olsson, Van der Hoorn, Mawson, Carroll, Sanches, Mesa, Ki, Ayew, Bony.

TEAM NEWS

TEAM NEWS

Tottenham: Lloris, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies. Dier, Winks. Son, Eriksen, Dele. Kane.

TEAM NEWS

TEAM NEWS

The omens aren't great for Paul Clement's side as they prepare to face Bournemouth, who will no doubt be buoyed by their 4-0 win over Huddersfield Town last weekend.

Spurs are at their temporary home. Will they take advantage of West Brom's lack of manager and romp to victory? Team news is just five minutes away.

Much has been made of Salah, Morata and Lukaku, but Pascal Gross, a bargain basement signing for Brighton, is proving to be one of the purchases of the summer.

Marouane Fellaini may well start for the Red Devils against high-flying Brighton, but the Belgian may soon be plying his trade elsewhere.

The former Everton star's contract at Old Trafford expire at the end of the season, and manager Jose Mourinho is not confident he'll sign fresh terms.

"It is a discussion between the players and the board. I am not involved in contracts, in deals," Mourinho said.

"I respect both, the player because the player has the right to decide his future. He finishes his contract, he has the right to decide his future, and I respect the board because the decisions and the discussions are under their control. So I just wait, wishing that they will have an understanding but it is out my control."

Doesn't bode well for Gary Meson's Baggies, this.

United veteran Michael Carrick took to social media on Friday to provide an update on his recovery from what was believed to be an illness.

All was not well with the metronomic midfielder in September, and after a series of tests he learned that he was suffering from minor heart problems, which seem to have cleared up.

"I just want to clear up my situation as I have had quite a few people asking if I'm OK and why I haven't been fit over the last couple of months," Carrick released a statement via Twitter on Friday.

"After feeling strange in the second half of the Burton game in September, I underwent a series of tests. It turned out to be due to an irregular heart rhythm which has been fully investigated and I had a procedure called a Cardiac Ablation.

"I had to build up training steadily while being monitored closely but I feel fine now. I would like to reassure everyone that I'm healthy and back training hard with the team. I'm building up my fitness and aiming to be back in contention for selection soon."

Good afternoon and welcome to IB Time UK's live coverage of the Premier League's 3pm kick-offs.

There are five matches taking place at the traditional start-time for English football this weekend, with much of the focus predictably resting on Manchester United's clash with Brighton and Hove Albion and Tottenham's match against managerless West Bromwich Albion.

Elsewhere Crystal Palace take on Stoke City, Newcastle are set to battle with Watford while Swansea City host Bournemouth.

Much to savour today. Stay with IB Times UK for all the team news, updates and reaction from around the grounds.