Newcastle United vs. Man U
Venue: St. James’ Park
Kick off: 8PM
Manchester United return to Premier League action for the first time since their 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur when they make the trip up to Newcastle United tonight.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be demanding a response to the club’s joint-heaviest Premier League defeat, but they face a Newcastle side sitting four points and seven places above them in the early standings.
You have to go back to December 2013 for the last time Newcastle faced Manchester United in a Premier League game while sitting above them in the table.
The Magpies won 1-0 at Old Trafford on that occasion, and a repeat scoreline at St James’ Park this time around would pile even more pressure on the shoulders of under-fire manager Solskjaer.
It has been a miserable start to the campaign on and off the pitch for the 20-time English champions, who go into the weekend sitting 16th in the table with only three points from as many games – one win and two home defeats.
Man United have not lost as many as three of their opening four games of a campaign since 1986-87, and the feel-good factor which surrounded the club after a 14-game unbeaten run to end last season has now all but evaporated.
Solskjaer has seen his job come under the spotlight again, with suggestions that Ed Woodward is willing to pull the trigger and Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri among those reportedly waiting in the wings.
Rumours of unrest among the players has certainly not helped, while a seemingly disorganised transfer strategy reportedly resulted in Man United missing out on all of Solskjaer’s top four targets and instead bringing in Edinson Cavani, Alex Telles and Facundo Pellistri on deadline day.
The hope will be that the new arrivals give the rest of the squad a boost – in Cavani especially they have snapped up a proven winner and goalscorer – and Solskjaer may content himself in the safe assumption that things can surely get no worse than their 6-1 home humiliation at the hands of Tottenham last time out.
The stats add weight to the suggestion that it was one of the worst results in Man United’s long and illustrious history; it was their joint-heaviest Premier League defeat, only the fourth time they have lost by five goals in the competition, only the third time they have conceded six goals in a Premier League game, and Spurs became the first visiting team to score four first-half goals away to Man United in the league since they last did so themselves in November 1957.
Questions over Man United’s defence – and their priorities in the transfer market – have certainly not been helped by shipping 11 goals in their opening three league games either.
Only West Bromwich Albion have conceded more this term, while Man United have only ever conceded more than that in their opening three league games of a campaign once – 13 way back in 1930-31.
Harry Maguire’s horror-show for England in midweek has hardly taken the spotlight off the Man United skipper either, and all eyes will be on how he fares against a Newcastle attack which was notoriously miserly last season and has registered the fewest shots on target so far this term.
The Red Devils may actually be relieved to be making the trip up to St James’ Park considering they have lost their opening two home league games of a season for only the fifth time but have won five in a row on their travels.
In the midst of all the doom and gloom, Man United could even break a positive record too – never before have they won six consecutive top-flight away games while scoring more than once in each game.
Newcastle’s record in this fixture is fast improving, though, with wins in two of their last three home games against the Red Devils – more than they had managed in their previous 13 such matches.
Indeed, the Magpies could win back-to-back home league games against Man United for the first time since 1987, and they will be full of confidence that they can do it, too.
A 3-1 triumph over Burnley immediately before the international break lifted them into the top half of the table with seven points from their opening four games – three points and five places better off than they were at the same stage of last season.
Across all competitions they are now unbeaten in four games, while victory on Saturday would see them win back-to-back home league games for the first time since last Christmas.
Even their goalscoring prowess seems to be improving; they may have registered a league-low eight shots on target, but six of those have ended up in the back of the net, giving them a league-high conversion ratio of 75 per cent.
A top-half finish is the goal for Steve Bruce this season, and piling more misery on the club he served with such distinction during his playing days would be a somewhat unexpected boost towards that target.
Newcastle United possible XI: Darlow, Manquillo, Hayden, Lascelles, Fernandez, Lewis, Saint-Maximin, Shelvey, Hendrick, Joelinton, Wilson.
Manchester United possible XI: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, Pogba, McTominay, Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford, Ighalo.
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