Do the Magpies pay tribute to the shortage of personnel?

The Puskás Prize for the best goal of the past year is awarded annually as part of the FIFA World Player Gala. Alejandro Garnacho submitted a perfect application for this award last weekend. The 19-year-old top talent from Manchester United scored in the away game at Everton just a few minutes after kick-off with a very impressive side-footed shot. For the English record champions, it was an early and, more importantly, important chest-burster to finally take all three points in the complicated game at Goodison Park (3-0).

After a turbulent week in the Champions League, in which the Red Devils’ starting position deteriorated dramatically, coach Erik ten Hag’s team will be called upon again away from home on Saturday evening. The odds on a home win between Newcastle and Manchester United are significantly lower. The Magpies, in seventh place in the chasing pack, are therefore favorites in the duel against the sixth-placed team in the table, which is primarily due to their impressive home strength in the Premier League in recent weeks

At the same time, it should not be forgotten that coach Eddie Howe will once again be without numerous key players at the weekend. The Black & Whites’ regular players are running on fumes and the head coach has almost no options worth mentioning for rotation. It is therefore expected to be a fiercely contested duel at eye level, in which the defensive lines of both teams are likely to play an important role. In any case, a prediction of a relatively low-scoring match between Newcastle and Manchester United does not seem to be completely out of the air

Newcastle – Statistics & current form

Tuesday evening in the UEFA Champions League could hardly have been more bitter for Newcastle United. If they had been satisfied with a draw at Paris St Germain in the run-up to the away game at the Parc des Princes, the 1-1 draw felt like a defeat after 98 intense minutes. The reason was the joke penalty in stoppage time, which Kylian Mbappé converted to equalize at the last minute. However, it must be admitted that the French side missed a number of top chances throughout the match and could easily have won 4:1/5:1.

With the final matchday in the top flight approaching, the English side are ultimately reliant on support in Group F. Only if they beat Milan at home and PSG lose at Dortmund at the same time would the Magpies still be on course for the round of 16

Eddie Howe still has to improvise in terms of personnel

Before that, however, the focus must return to national events. Last year’s fourth-placed team is also lagging somewhat behind its own standards in seventh place. The Black & Whites have only won seven of their 13 league games to date. Of the top eight, only neighbors Manchester United (five) have conceded more defeats than Howe’s side (four). However, three of those four defeats were away from home. At home, on the other hand, NUFC are extremely strong.

After the 2-1 home defeat on matchday three, the Magpies have won five home games in a row with a goal difference of 12:1, including defeating Chelsea (4:1) and Arsenal (1:0). In view of this home strength and the fact that the north English side have won the two most recent head-to-head meetings against the Red Devils, the odds on a home win between Newcastle and Manchester United on Saturday evening are fairly low.

In our eyes, value is not necessarily apparent, especially as the Champions League contender’s injury list remains full and prominent. With Botman, Targett and Burn, three potential regulars from the back four are missing. Willock, Barnes, Murphy and Wilson are not available in attack. Sandro Tonali is known to have been suspended. It has therefore been the same players who have had to pull the coals out of the fire for a few weeks now and have certainly lost a lot of energy in a very intense away game in the French capital. Fatigue could definitely play a role at the weekend.

Predicted Newcastle line-up:

Manchester United – Statistics & current form

Manchester United have scored twelve goals in the first five matchdays of the Champions League group stage. Despite this remarkable offensive output, everything currently suggests that the international competitions will continue without the English record champions in 2024. The Red Devils are in fourth place in Group A ahead of the final matchday, when United face group leaders Munich. Only a home win against FC Bayern and a draw in the parallel match would be enough to advance to the round of 16. However, the likelihood of such a scenario is limited.

The main reason for the disappointing results in the CL preliminary round is primarily the defensive work. 14 goals conceded equates to an average of almost three goals per game. To make matters worse, keeper Andre Onana had a catastrophically bad day in the 3-3 draw against Galatasaray on Wednesday evening, almost conceding two free-kicks himself. It will now be interesting to see how coach Erik ten Hag’s team cope with the setback and bounce back in league action

Are United showing their friendly PL face again?

In the Premier League, last year’s third-placed team did really well recently. Without really shining, the global club from the English industrial city not only celebrated three wins in a row, but also five three-pointers in the past six matches. Moreover, the Red Devils have not conceded a single goal in their three most recent victories. The last time the 20-time national champions won four league games in a row, including a clean sheet, was in 2017

A point win for the supposed underdogs is certainly within the realms of possibility in our eyes, especially as MUFC have recently won four PL away games in a row and, with a total of just 16 goals conceded, have a solid defense, at least at national level. They have conceded no more than one goal in eight of their 13 matches.

The odds on Alejandro Garnacho scoring between Newcastle and Manchester United are also exciting. The 19-year-old Argentinian international is in great form at the moment. The winger followed up his aforementioned dream goal against Everton with another against Galatasaray

Predicted Manchester United line-up:

Newcastle – Manchester United head-to-head comparison / H2H result

The teams have already faced each other once this season. Newcastle ran out clear 3-0 winners at Old Trafford in the last 16 of the EFL Cup. As the Magpies also prevailed 2-0 at home last season, the Black & Whites could now win three consecutive competitive matches against the record champions for the first time in over 100 (!) years. Newcastle have not even won two consecutive Premier League games since 1972. If you take these statistics into account and pay close attention to them, the Newcastle vs Manchester United prediction for the home triumph carries a lot of risk:

Newcastle – Manchester United prediction

Three/four years ago, it would have been almost unthinkable that Newcastle would be the clear favorite against Manchester United according to the betting odds. However, a lot of money from the Middle East has made the Magpies inimitably competitive. Although the squad has a lot to offer, Eddie Howe has recently been forced to integrate more players from the reserves/youth into the team. The personnel situation is absolutely threatening due to many injuries. The coach has no rotation options, which is why the same starting eleven will probably be on the pitch again on Saturday evening despite numerous intense matches.

This is exactly where we see the advantage for the visitors, who are also struggling with injuries but may be able to adopt a more controlled/defensive approach at St. James Park. United have won five of their last six Premier League games, have won four away games in a row and have not lost two consecutive PL matches against their upcoming opponents since 1972

We believe that the Red Devils can win a point and are therefore backing the double chance X2 in the Newcastle v Manchester United clash