Manchester United vs Newcastle United

Old Trafford sets the stage for a tasty-looking Premier League showdown between Manchester United and Newcastle United. 

Manchester United’s humiliating league campaign suffered another blow at the weekend as Erik ten Hag’s injury-plagued side slumped to a 1-0 home loss to title-bidding Arsenal, only days after an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace. Another sub-par result would probably mean the end of United’s European ambitions. But they can take inspiration from not losing a home meeting with Newcastle in the Premier League for over a decade. Yet, Ten Hag has massively struggled against the Magpies, losing three consecutive meetings with the Tyne Army without scoring since a 2-0 win in the 2022/23 League Cup final. Another defeat would set an unwanted piece of club history as the Red Devils stare down the barrel of a tenth home loss in a single season for the first time.

In the meantime, VAR denied Newcastle a late win in last weekend’s 1-1 home draw against Brighton, though they remain on the verge of securing Europa League qualification after only losing once in their last eight league outings (W5, D2). Eddie Howe has seemingly had Ten Hag’s number, yet his men have traveled poorly of late, suffering three defeats on their last five Premier League road trips (W2). The Magpies are hellbent on improving that record at Old Trafford as they could beat Man Utd in four consecutive encounters for the first time in the 21st century. They’ve already done so twice this season, including a thumping 3-0 League Cup victory at this venue in November.