Manchester United travel Tyneside in search of much-needed win

Sitting 10th in the league with just two victories, Man United visit Newcastle in desperate hope of rescuing their season.

While it’s still early on in the campaign, the clash at St James Park potentially represents a season defining one for the two sides.

In recent times, a vulnerable Manchester United has come under severe pressure due to form and injury woes. Heading into the season, it was well-documented that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer found himself with a deteriorated and fragile squad. The likes of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez packed their bags for Italy whilst Ander Herrera joined PSG.

With a young side that was always going to be thread-bare, the Red Devils top-four prospects have been somewhat hampered by injuries to key players. Anthony Martial has missed over half the season already with Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw all struggling to shake-off knocks. Given United are yet to win on the road, a trip to Newcastle could prove troublesome.

Languishing 19th in the league, Newcastle are in a similar boat to their opponents. With just one victory all season, Steve Bruce needs a vital three points to ease the pressure on himself and his troops.

Team news

Newcastle have a whole host of absentees for the match on Sunday. Florian Lejeune (knee), Matt Ritchie (ankle), and Dwight Gayle (calf) are all out while Isaac Hayden is serving his suspension from the red card he picked up against Leicester. Jonjo Shelvey and Jetro Willems are expected to return and could feature.

Phil Jones joins Eric Bailly (knee) on the sidelines who remains a long-term casualty. It is also believed the clash might come a little too early for French duo Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, who have respective ankle and thigh injuries.

Jesse Lingard is a doubt after limping off against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday evening. Aaron Wan-Bissaka may return after missing the last two fixtures due to tonsillitis.

Toon boss Steve Bruce is desperate for a reaction following his side’s brutal 5-0 defeat to Leicester:

“Whoever we are playing, it is about what we do. Especially after last week.

They might not be the Man United of the past but they’ve still got some very good players. We are going to have to be at our best and a lot better than we were last week.

“I am hoping we show a response to the supporters because we let everyone down last week.

“It is a wonderful time to play them because it will be a full house, live on the TV. If ever we needed to bounce back against anybody, what better way than against them.”

Despite an indifferent start to the campaign, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes he still has the players to build for the future:

“We’re not in the ’90s now. It’s a different era, a different group that we’re building. We know there are going to be ups and downs. I’m ready to see these boys blossom.

“There’s not many clubs with our stature that play the young players that we do. They’ve got a chance to come through and we’re sure some of these will be part of a successful team.”

Head-to-head

In the 167 matches between the pair, spanning all the way back to 1895, Manchester United have prevailed 86 times compared to Newcastle’s 42 victories. The other 39 have been draws.