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Premier League: Manchester United v Newcastle match preview

A look ahead to this week’s Premier League fixture at Old Trafford

Richard Holt
Thursday 05 December 2013 17:28 GMT
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David Moyes
David Moyes

After a forgettable night against Everton on Wednesday night, David Moyes will be hoping his Manchester United side can overcome Newcastle in Saturday’s early kick off.

Newcastle had been on a good run of form before their loss away to Swansea in midweek, including victories against Chelsea and Tottenham at the start of November. Manager Alan Pardrew will be confident that his side can achieve the impossible against a United side that have lacked fluency so far this season. Manchester United sit 9th in the table, one point behind 7th place Newcastle and a further twelve points behind leaders Arsenal. Whilst it is safe to assume that Manchester United’s best form will come later in the season, adding another loss- or even a draw- to their growing tally could leave even their Champions League expectancies drift away. A win for Newcastle, however, could leave them within touching distance of the top four.

Manchester United will be without key talisman Wayne Rooney on Saturday after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season, resulting in a one-game suspension for the striker. The home side will be hoping for a boost in the form of Robin Van Persie. The Dutch striker has been out of reaction for a month but could be back in contention for this weekend’s fixture. Newcastle will hope to put in a better performance than that against Swansea as they face a United side who they haven’t beat at Old Trafford since the 1971/72 season.

KICK-OFF:Saturday, 12.45pm

PAST THREE MEETINGS:

Manchester United 4 (Evans, Evra, Van Persie, Hernandez) Newcastle 3 (Perch, Evans og, Cisse), Premier League, December 2012

Newcastle 0 Manchester United 3 (Evans, Evra, Cleverley), Premier League, October 2012

Manchester United 2 (Anderson, Cleverley) Newcastle 1 (Cisse), Capital One Cup, September 2012

STATS:

Newcastle haven’t won against Manchester United at Old Trafford since the 197/72 season.

Manchester United have only failed to score three times in their previous 75 matches at Old Trafford (twice against Chelsea and once against Everton)

Newcastle have just won 5 out of their last 27 games away from home (W5 D7 L15)

Newcastle have alternated between wins and defeats in their last eight league games away from home (W4 L4).

ODDS:

Manchester United to win: 1.40

Newcastle to win: 8.00

Draw: 4.33

TV: Live on BT Sport 1 & BT Sport 1 HD at 12:45, Highlights on Match of the Day on BBC 1 at 10:20pm

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