Venue and Timings
The match will kick-off at 16.00 BST ( 20.00 PST 20.30 IST) at St. James Park.
Team Form
Manchester United
Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Jonny Evans have all recovered from their respective injuries and are ready to play. Antonia Valencia’s appearance is doubtful and if he does not play, Danny Welbeck or Nani could take his place in the team.
Smalling might get a feature on the bench after he has recovered from his injury.
Rooney and Kagawa are likely to play behind Persie as they both aim to assist him in scoring more goals.
Ashley Young, Nemanja Vidic and Phil Jones will stay sidelined due to their knee injuries.
Newcastle United
Danny Simpson had taken his place back in the squad after playing Newcastle’s Europa fixture. Coloccini and Taylor’s appearances are doubtful.
Pappis Cisse was very influential when he last faced United so he will definitely be attacking with Ba.
Tim Krul will not play due to his injury.
Recent Meetings
Newcastle has not been an easy opponent for United.
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Manchester United 2 – 1 Newcastle United |
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Manchester United 0 – 3 Newcastle United |
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Manchester United 1 – 1 Newcastle United |
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Manchester United 0 – 0 Newcastle United |
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Manchester United 3 – 0 Newcastle United |
What to expect?
The match will definitely be an interesting one as Newcastle are harsh on United every time the teams go on head-to-head.
In last year’s fixture, Rio Ferdinand had received a controversial red card for his one-foot tackle. So, you may expect a few yellows in the game.
Though United had defeated Newcastle last week, the match showed that United were not very dominant over Newcastle so you may expect the possession to range widely.
Ben Arfa, Ba and Pappis Cisse might prove to be lethal for United. However, it is doubted that United will not do anything. Rooney and Robin van Persie’s partnership in scoring goals might create troubles for the Newcastle defence.
However, United’s defence lapse might allow Newcastle to score.
Overall, you will see much heat from the both the sides as United would try to bounce back from their embarrassing defeat last season. My prediction is 2 – 2 as both the teams would be under pressure.
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