Newcastle United vs Manchester United

Relegation-threatened Newcastle United face a formidable challenge in Manchester United as the two lock horns in a high-stake Premier League showdown at St James’ Park.

A 1-0 home victory over fellow relegation strugglers Norwich City earlier in December proved a fluke as Newcastle United have since lost three Premier League matches in a row by an aggregate score of 11-1. With the abovementioned win over basement boys Norwich remaining Newcastle’s solitary Premier League success this season (D7, L10), it comes as no surprise that the ‘Magpies’ currently languish in 19th in the table. Eddie Howe’s men have conceded a staggering 79 Premier League goals in 2021 so far and failing to keep a clean sheet against Man United would see them set an unwanted record in the competition. That’s not beyond the realm of imaginable, considering the Tynesiders have shipped a league-high 41 Premier League goals this season, registering just one shutout from 18 top-flight matches to date.

Meanwhile, Manchester United have undergone a mini-revival in the post-Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era, going unbeaten in all four Premier League fixtures (W3, D1) since his sacking in November. Newly-appointed interim boss Ralf Rangnick has navigated his side to a brace of narrow 1-0 triumphs over Norwich and Crystal Palace. The German could become the first-ever Man United manager to keep a clean sheet in each of his first four league matches in charge. But even if they concede first, the ‘Red Devils’ could still come back to win at St James’ Park, considering that they’ve won the Premier League all-time high ten games against Newcastle from losing positions. What’s more, the three-time European champions have won each of their last four Premier League H2Hs by 3+ goals ‘to one’ and could make it five top-flight H2H victories in a row for the first time since 2006.