After a tough test in Europa League against Lyon, Manchester United shift their focus to Premier League to face Newcastle United at St James’ Park this Sunday.
Manchester United head into Round 32 of Premier League from the 13th position in the standings, winless in the previous two league games with a defeat to Nottingham and a stalemate against Manchester City.
The struggle continued for United in their European competition, where they dropped two points with a 2-2 draw against Lyon.
Despite goalkeeper Andre Onana’s mistake, leading to the concession of the opener from Thiago Almada, United managed to take control of the game with the names of Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee on the score sheet.
However, one more blunder from the Red Devils’ goalkeeper gifted another goal to the opposition in stoppage time, with Rayan Cherki gratefully applying the finishing touch. With the terrible season going on, United have amassed only ten victories in 31 games while conceding 13 defeats.
On the other hand, Newcastle United enter this game in solid shape, having won four consecutive games in the EFL Cup and Premier League. The Magpies sealed a narrow victory during their trip to West Ham before their remarkable title victory against Liverpool in the EFL Cup.
Eddie Howe’s men continued to display strong performances against Brentford and then Leicester City at King Power Stadium in their last outing.
With 16 wins and five draws from 30 games, Newcastle sit fifth in the table with a game in hand, equal on points with Chelsea in fourth position. They currently occupy a Champions League spot after the Premier League was awarded an extra slot, thanks to Arsenal’s recent victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Newcastle vs United Head-to-Head record
The recent head-to-head record between these two teams highly favors Newcastle United, with four victories in the last five meetings, losing one.
The Magpies have also been displaying dominant play over the Red Devils in their recent duels at St James’ Park, undefeated in the last three with victories in the previous two encounters.
Newcastle confirmed a 0-2 victory over United in the away fixtures and are looking forward to a double for the first time since 1930-31.
United would do well to make sure they do not concede early in the fixture, which was their ultimate undoing against Newcastle back in December.
Team news and predicted scoreline
Newcastle’s Swen Botman and Jamaal Lascelles will not be available for Sunday’s fixture due to knee injuries, while Lewis Hall will be sidelined due to a foot injury. Meanwhile, Joe Willock and Alexander Isak, and Anthony Gordon’s availability is uncertain following fitness concerns.
For United, Lisandro Martinez, Jonny Evans, Ayden Heaven, Amad, and Toby Collyer remain the absentees while Matthijs De Ligt is still out of the field after enduring an injury earlier this month against Nottingham Forest.
Moreover, with the recent Onana’s having presented disappointing performances between the sticks, Altay Bayindir might be handed his Premier League debut in the starting lineup against Newcastle.
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Newcastle United looks in great spirits ahead of this game and will be determined to strengthen their Champions League place.
With United’s recent struggles against the Premier League’s top six and their main focus on the Europa League, we don’t see any positive outcome for the Red Devils this Sunday.
Final Score Prediction: 2-1
How to watch Newcastle vs United
One of the most interesting clashes of Round 32 of Premier League will be broadcast in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, and Sky Sports Ultra HD.
The fixture will kick off at St James’ Park on Sunday, 13 April, at 4:30 BST. The radio coverage will be provided on BBC Radio 5 Live.
In the USA, the encounter will be shown on NBC Sports App, USA Network, Peacock, Telemundo, and Fubo TV.
All other global TV channel information can be found here.
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