Both aiming to bounce back from painful evenings in the Champions League, Newcastle United and Manchester United meet at St James' Park for a mouthwatering Premier League showdown on Saturday night.
The Magpies were cruelly denied a momentous win over Paris Saint-Germain in a 1-1 draw with the Ligue 1 champions on Tuesday, before the Red Devils let a 3-1 lead slip in a 3-3 stalemate versus Galatasaray.
Match preview
© Reuters
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta memorably made no bones about his anger towards match officials and VAR after the Gunners' 1-0 loss to Newcastle, who should now be able to emphasise with the Spaniard after being on the wrong end of a highly questionable call at the Parc des Princes.
After Alexander Isak had silenced the Parisiens faithful in the first half, Newcastle entered backs-against-the-wall mode against Luis Enrique's side and would seemingly hold on for arguably their greatest-ever European victory, only for Kylian Mbappe to score from the spot eight minutes into added time following Tino Livramento's handball.
Fans and pundits alike lambasted the decision to penalise Livramento, who could do little about the ball deflecting off his thigh and onto his elbow, but Newcastle barely ventured out of their own half in the second 45 and left themselves at risk of late drama as PSG launched attack after attack in the French capital.
However, a return to home comforts is exactly what the doctor ordered for Howe's dejected men, who crushed 10-man Chelsea 4-1 in the North East in their most recent Premier League encounter, remaining just one point behind Man United in seventh place in the process.
Each of the Magpies' last five Premier League home games have now ended in victory for Howe's crop, who had also kept four successive top-flight clean sheets at the ground before Raheem Sterling's sumptuous free kick, and two similar set-pieces in Man United's meeting with Galatasaray saw Andre Onana make headlines for the wrong reasons again.
© Reuters
A few days on from beginning the rout of Everton with one of the most spectacular goals the Premier League will ever see, Alejandro Garnacho's vicious near-post finish propelled Man United into the ascendancy versus Galatasaray, who also succumbed to a Bruno Fernandes piledriver in the first half of Wednesday's Champions League game.
With his side ostensibly set to rise to second spot in Group A with maximum points in Istanbul, Onana nearly got away with one Hakim Ziyech free kick sailing past him as Scott McTominay restored the Red Devils' two-goal lead, but the Cameroonian inexplicably allowed another set-piece from the Moroccan to nestle into the side of the net before a wonder strike from Kerem Akturkoglu finished the six-goal extravaganza.
Another calamitous Champions League collapse has left the Red Devils on the cusp of elimination from Group A, which they close out with a clash against Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in December, and the under-fire Ten Hag accepted the blame for his side's alarming capitulation at Rams Park.
A familiar sense of dread is now prevalent once again, in spite of the fact that Man United's 3-0 beating of Everton last weekend marked their third Premier League win on the trot - with three clean sheets in tow - and the sixth-placed Red Devils have triumphed in each of their last four away games in the top flight.
However, since crushing Newcastle's dreams of EFL Cup glory, Man United have lost their last two fixtures with the Magpies - a 2-0 St James' Park defeat last term before their EFL Cup defence ended in a 3-0 Old Trafford humbling - and the hosts could now march to three successive wins over the Red Devils for the first time in 101 years.
Team News
© Reuters
The Newcastle treatment room remains full to the brim - allowing several academy starlets to earn spots on the bench in the Champions League - as all of Sean Longstaff (ankle), Jacob Murphy (shoulder), Joe Willock (Achilles), Matt Targett (thigh), Javier Manquillo (groin), Sven Botman (knee), Harvey Barnes (foot), Elliot Anderson (back), Callum Wilson (thigh) and Dan Burn (back) are out of contention.
Fellow midfielder Sandro Tonali continues to serve his 10-month betting suspension, but Matt Ritchie and Emil Krafth will be back in the squad after being ineligible to face PSG in the Champions League.
With so few options for change to play around with, Howe will likely call upon all 11 of his starters from the Parc des Princes again, meaning 17-year-old protege Lewis Miley should reprise his midfield role after doing himself proud in Paris.
The Man United medical team are also being forced to work overtime right now, as Lisandro Martinez (foot), Casemiro (thigh), Jonny Evans (thigh), Christian Eriksen (knee), Amad Diallo (knee) and Tyrell Malacia (knee) - who has undergone a second operation - will not be back in action just yet, while Mason Mount (calf) is back in training but may need more time to get up to speed.
Jadon Sancho's exile from the first team is now reaching the three-month mark, but Ten Hag will have Marcus Rashford back from a Champions League suspension, so Antony - who has just battled back from a knock - may return to the substitutes bench.
After a handful of alterations against Galatasaray did not bear fruit, Ten Hag could revert to a similar-looking side to the one that cruised past Everton, which would allow Kobbie Mainoo to go toe-to-toe with his teenage counterpart Miley in midfield.
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Pope; Trippier, Schar, Lascelles, Livramento; Joelinton, Guimaraes, Miley; Almiron, Isak, Gordon
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Dalot, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw; McTominay, Mainoo; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund
We say: Newcastle United 2-1 Manchester United
Even with a bench packed full of inexperienced teenagers and an infirmary overflowing with top-class talent, Newcastle could count themselves incredibly unfortunate to leave PSG with just a point, and Howe's depleted troops seldom need any lessons in clinical attacking displays at home.
A ravaged Man United side have already felt the full force of the Magpies once this season, and despite their recent progress on the goalscoring front, Ten Hag's men remain far too easy to carve open; frailties which Newcastle should happily expose on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
