163/100Man Utd (4-2-3-1): André Onana; Aaron Wan-Bissaka; Casemiro; Jonny Evans; Diogo Dalot; Kobbie Mainoo; Sofyan Amrabat; Amad Diallo; Scott McTominay; Alejandro Garnacho; Bruno Fernandes;
Newcastle (4-3-3): Martin Dúbravka; Kieran Trippier; Emil Krafth; Dan Burn; Lewis Hall; Sean Longstaff; Bruno Guimarães; Elliot Anderson; Jacob Murphy; Alexander Isak; Anthony Gordon;
In a direct dispute for a place in the European club tournaments, Manchester United welcomes Newcastle to Old Trafford. Throughout the season, Erik Ten Hag’s team suffered from a severe number of injuries, and at the end of the season, the Dutch manager could not rely on the majority of his defenders. This led to poor results, and it is not a surprise that not only Manchester United but Newcastle are now sixth and considered favourites for the three points today.
Over the weekend, both teams lost points. This was expected for Manchester United, who lost 0-1 to championship contender Arsenal on their home ground. Even surprisingly, the Red Devils were the team with more time in the opposing half, but it was more of a move by Mikel Arteta, who was convinced that the opponent could not overcome his defence.
It was a slightly different situation for Newcastle, who were expected to get past Brighton relatively easily in Saturday’s home fixture. I was of that opinion, too, and was even surprised that the bookies expected the Seagulls to score. In the end, it was a pretty even match, albeit with a slight advantage for Newcastle. Anthony Gordon’s winning goal was ruled out after a VAR review in the 85th minute.
Erik Tan Hag definitely can’t cope with the missing pieces in his squad, but how can he be competitive when Bruno Fernandez, Marcus Rashford and his best defenders are off the pitch? Crystal Palace thrashed the Red Devils 0-4 at the start of the month, and the result could have been even more emphatic.
Despite personnel issues and poor play, Manchester United didn’t lose many of their home games in 2024. However, Tottenham, Liverpool and even Burnley were not far from victories here, while Sheffield United scored two goals. Newcastle is also a team whose performance has been disrupted by missing players throughout the season. However, Eddie Howe has been much more adept at dealing with the situation, and his team is playing winning football, which I expect will lead to the three points today.