Having bounced back from their first defeat of 2018, Manchester United will look to continue their otherwise excellent recent form when they travel to Newcastle on Sunday afternoon. The Reds started the new year with five consecutive wins and did so without conceding a single goal, only to fall behind after just 11 seconds against Tottenham.
A Phil Jones own goal at Wembley confirmed that 2-0 defeat, but Jose Mourinho’s men bounced back by beating Huddersfield at Old Trafford last time out. Going into this weekend’s round of games they sit 13 points behind neighbours Manchester City, and will likely be more concerned with keeping Liverpool – currently five points behind in third-place – rather than any aspirations of catching the Premier League’s runaway leaders.
Mourinho’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation remains in place even after the arrival of Alexis Sanchez, the Chilean playing nominally on the left flank and looking extremely sharp in that aforementioned win over Huddersfield. He is expected to continue there in this clash, adding an even greater threat to United’s already potent counter attacking style that also relies heavily on the team’s defensive strength.
It is no surprise that a team led by the Portuguese Coach has conceded fewer goals (18) than any other side in the division, a fact that makes the task facing Newcastle even more difficult. The Toon – who enter this weekend sitting 16th in the table – have scored fewer times (24) than all but five teams, and their form has been particularly poor of late.
⚽ Newcastle v Man United
🏆 Premier League
📆 Minggu, 11 Februari 2018
🕘 Kick-Off: 21.15 WIB
📺 LIVE on beIN Sports 1
Without a win in five games, they have twice led only to concede second half goals against both Burnley and Crystal Palace, each game resulting in a disappointing 1-1 draw. Rafael Benitez has also largely used a 4-2-3-1 system this term, although he did briefly experiment with a three-man defence in hope of arresting their slump down the table.
Newcastle have been wasteful in front of goal, figures from WhoScored.com showing they are averaging 12 shots per game in 2017/18 but getting just four of them on target, a poor return that does not bode well ahead of such a stern task. Benitez has some tough decisions to make regarding his team selection, long term absentee Jesús Gámez already ruled out while there are doubts over the fitness of Robert Elliot, Ciaran Clark and new signing Islam Slimani.
Newcastle have seen over 2.5 goals in all but three of their last 15 home matches against United in all competitions and that could well continue given the plethora of talent available to Mourinho. Angered by their performance against Spurs, the former Inter boss dropped Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial against Huddersfield and also found space for Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw and youngster Scott McTominay.
He will now need to decide how best to proceed, meaning his starting XI is likely to be an intriguing one as kick-off approaches and leaves Newcastle unsure of how to plan for the visit of Man United.
Predicted Line-Ups:
Newcastle United (4-2-3-1): Darlow; Yedlin, Clark, Lascelles, Dummett; Shelvey, Diame; Ritchie, Perez, Kenedy; Gayle
Manchester United (4-1-4-1): De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Rojo, Shaw; Matic; Lingard, Pogba, Mata, Sanchez; Lukaku
