Manchester United vs Newcastle preview: It's a big game for Wayne Rooney - but he loves playing against Newcastle

A look ahead to the Premier League fixture at Old Trafford

Friday 21 August 2015 17:44 BST

Wayne Rooney rues another missed chance against Bruges on Tuesday night (Reuters)

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It’s a big game for…

WAYNE ROONEY: United’s main-man has failed to score against Tottenham, Aston Villa and Club Brugge, and is slowly becoming one of the starting eleven’s weaker assets. England’s captain will be hoping to add to his impressive goal tally against the Tyneside outfit, as will the fans.

Best stat…

11: The amount of times Rooney has scored past the Magpies since 2004. Impressively, the striker’s tally against Newcastle comes from only 20 starts.

Remember when…

Wayne Rooney scored this beauty against Newcastle back in 2005. Shay Given had no chance.

Player to watch…

MEMPHIS DEPAY: Having failed to overly impress in his opening two Premier League games, the Dutchman showed his true potential as United’s long term No.7 in his side’s 3-1 Champions League win over club Brugge on Tuesday. United fans will be hoping for more of the same thing, as Depay netted emphatically twice to guide the Old Trafford side to victory.

Past three-meetings…

Newcastle 0 Manchester United 1 (Young), Premier League, March 2015

Manchester Utd 3 (Rooney 2, Van Persie) Newcastle 1 (Cisse), Premier League, December 2014

Newcastle 0 Manchester Utd 4 (Mata 2, Hernandez, Januzaj), Premier League, April 2014

Form guide…

MANCHESTER UNITED: WWW

NEWCASTLE UNITED: DL

Vital information…

KICK-OFF TIME: Saturday, 12.45pm

TV: Live on BT Sport, highlights on BBC1

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