MANCHESTER UNITED are facing Newcastle in a huge match in the battle for the Champions League places RIGHT NOW!
The Red Devils beat Eddie Howe’s side in the Carabao Cup final 2-0 but Newcastle have picked up their form since then, while United’s has dithered.
And the headline team news is that Marcus Rashford STARTS for United after pulling out of the England squad with injury.
- Start time: 4.30pm BST
- TV/Live stream: Sky Sports Premier League
- Newcastle XI: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Willock, Murphy, Isak, Saint-Maximin
- Man Utd XI: De Gea, Dalot, Martinez, Varane, Shaw, McTominay, Sabitzer, Fernandes, Antony, Rashford, Weghorst
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Fernandes not happy
38:’ A goal kick is given when it looked like it should’ve been a United corner, leaving Fernandes perplexed to say the least.
Decent chance for Isak
35′: Some direct running from Murphy opened up a chance for Isak, but Varane is out quickly to block.
United swap wings
29′: After getting no joy where they started, Rashford and Antony have swapped sides to try and get United going.
Murphy fires over
25′: Some nice play on the edge of the box opens up a chance for Murphy, but it flies way over.
Chance for Dalot
34′: Dalot snuck in behind to get on the end of a cross, but seemed to get caught in two minds and ended up messing up his attempt.
Antony struggling
23′: The crowd have been on Antony’s back since the start, and he doesn’t appear to be enjoying his afternoon up against Dan Burn so far.
Longstaff has another chance
19′: He would have been offside, but Longstaff heads a Saint-Maximin cross wide.
Newcastle on top here.
What a save De Gea!
17′: How is that not 1-0?
Murphy’s cross is met by Isak, who is denied by De Gea at first.
The ball falls back to Willock, but he’s also denied by a fine reaction stop.
Noise building at St. James’ Park
13′: A lovely nutmeg from Guimaraes gets the crowd excited, but he is caught out on the ball which presents a chance for Weghorst.
The Dutchman can only fire into the side netting.
United looking for Rashford in behind
10′: The ball in behind for the in-form man is certainly top of the menu for United so far today.
Nothing too threatening has come as of yet for the Englishman.
Huge chance for Longstaff!
A cross to the back post is kept alive by Isak, who finds Longstaff six yards out.
He gets his left footed shot wrong though, and can’t find anyone for a rebound.
Big chance for Newcastle.
De Gea looking shaky with his feet
6′: Kicking has never been De Gea’s strong point, and that has already come to the surface today as a number of first time clearances have gone astray.
Early corner for Newcastle
3′: Despite Fernandes’ complaints, the hosts win an early corner which is dealt with well.
And we’re off!
United get us underway. Manchester that is.
Here come the teams!
Kieran Trippier and Bruno Fernandes lead out their respective sides for the penultimate game of the weekend in the Premier League!
Ten minutes to go
The atmosphere is building nicely inside St. James’ Park, a real big game feel has returned to this famous stadium.
Ten Hag trusts Weghorst
Erik ten Hag recently praised the impact of Wout Weghorst, claiming he could see him at the club long term.
“Of course. I think he is doing a lot of elements of football really well — Wout is doing a really good job for us”
Fancy a flutter?
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McTominay’s time to impress
With Casemiro suspended, Scott McTominay has a massive chance to show he can still contribute as a Manchester United player.
Maybe a recreation of his performance against Spain would go a long way…
Battle at the bottom
There’s only a few minutes left of today’s early game at the London Stadium, where West Ham lead Southampton 1-0 in a crucial clash.
You can follow The Sun’s coverage here:
Familiar foes
It wasn’t long ago that these two were going at it for the first trophy of the season in the Carabao Cup final.
Goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford were the difference back on that day.
Martial makes the bench
Anthony Martial is only fit enough for the bench this afternoon, meaning Wout Weghorst is afforded another start.
He will be hoping to exercise some demons from the international break in front of goal.
No Joelinton for Newcastle
Eddie Howe deciding to go unchanged from the win against Nottingham Forest means Joelinton will start on the bench.
He had his way with their opponents last time they came to St. James’ Park.
Rashford returns from injury
Manchester United: De Gea; Dalot, Martinez, Varane, Shaw; Sabitzer, McTominay; Fernandes, Antony, Rashford, Weghorst
Newcastle unchanged
Newcastle: Pope; Trippier, Botman, Schar, Burn; Bruno Guimaraes, Longstaff, Willock; Murphy, Saint-Maximin, Isak
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
