Abhranil Roy
Newcastle United vs Manchester United Preview
Manchester United are on a high after winning 2 successive games on a trot, 2-1 against Swansea City in the league and then a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United in the FA Cup last Saturday. Although the last match wasn’t exactly pleasing to the eye and the team failed to create proper chances and fans left the game long after it was over, yet we somehow managed a win and Louis van Gaal needs that more than anything else at the moment. Newcastle United sit at 18th position on the table — 2 points away from safety, and were beaten 1-0 by Watford in the Cup last day. That extended their winless run to 5 Premier League games while they have now faced 4 defeats on the trot. United have an excellent history of putting together their best at St. James’s Park, and their Dutch manager will be hoping for the same tonight.
TEAM NEWS:
Newcastle boss Steve McClaren, who confirmed that Henri Saviet, the Bordeaux striker was having a medical at the club but wouldn’t be able to play the game, will make a late decision on centre-back Fabio Coloccini, who missed Monday’s training session after being substituted at half-time against the Hornets.Jack Colback is expected to return after a hamstring problem of his own but winger Florian Thauvin (ankle) and defender Kevin Mbabu (thigh) are doubtful with knocks. Winger Rolando Aarons (foot) and striker Emmanuel Riviere (knee) areback in contention and defender Steven Taylor (also hamstring) and striker Papiss Cisse (groin) are also close to returning, but keeper Tim Krul (knee ligaments), defender Massadio Haidara (knee) and midfielders Gabriel Obertan and Vurnon Anita (both hamstring) remain on the sidelines.
For United, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger misses out for the visitors because of a knee injury sustained in Saturday’s stoppage-time win over Sheffield United. Antonio Valencia (foot), Luke Shaw (leg) and Marcos Rojo (shoulder) are out while Phil Jones is unlikely to feature because of his ankle problem. Ashley Young, Michael Carrick and Morgan Schneiderlin are likely to return to the squad after being rested in the FA Cup.
STAT ATTACK:
*Newcastle have suffered 25 Premier League defeats against Manchester United; their joint-highest tally in the competition against an opponent (alongside Arsenal).
*Manchester United have lost just one of their last 12 Premier League away games versus Newcastle United (W9 D2 L1).
* Wayne Rooney has scored 12 Premier League goals against Newcastle United – only against Aston Villa (13) has he scored more often. Rooney scored in Manchester United’s last Premier League game against Swansea – the England striker hasn’t netted in successive league appearances since November 2014.
* The Red Devils have lost their last two Premier League away games (at Bournemouth and Stoke) – they have not lost three successive top-flight away matches since January 1996.
PREDICTION:
Given their impressive track record at the home of the Magpies in recent past, we expect United to win 2-0.
