Manchester United take on Newcastle United at Old Trafford at 12:45pm (BST) on Saturday afternoon. Having beaten Newcastle 1-0 away from home in the last fixture, van Gaal and his men will be hoping for a more emphatic result this time around
We asked some of our writers for their thoughts on the game, which will be the sides’ third of the 2-15-16 Premier League season.
James Browning
Well, it’s been an up-and-down week for United, with supposed transfer targets joining rival clubs but also a 3-1 Champions League qualifying victory against Club Brugge. Let’s ignore the former and focus on the latter. Memphis finally came to light and Rooney showed marked improvement. Schweinsteiger was brilliant as usual and Smalling, or ‘The Maidstone Maldini’ as we like to call him here, was a rock again.
The signs are promising and I’m fully expecting three points against Newcastle; however they will trouble us more than last season, probably through Wijnaldum, who I’m a massive fan of.
A huge bonus for us is Daryl Janmaat’s suspension, which means Memphis will be up against a makeshift right-back – I can see this being the area we exploit.
Score Prediction: Manchester United 3-1 Newcastle United (Memphis, Rooney, Smalling, Colback)
Matt Brown
United have made a good start to the season without playing their best football, and I’m expecting a similar narrative in this weekend’s game against Newcastle. The Magpies’ defence has been less than convincing so far in the League though, so Louis van Gaal’s attacking players should have more than enough to secure a fourth consecutive victory.
The Reds’ forward play hasn’t been quite up to standard yet, but I think Memphis can carry on from his superb display against Club Brugge to re-energise the attack. Wayne Rooney also has an excellent scoring record against Newcastle and another goal against them can kick-start his season.
Newcastle do have some good players going forward though and could break down our so far resolute defence. They have scored in every game they have played in at Old Trafford since 2010, and I think they will do so again here. Despite that, United will still control the game and take enough of their chances to edge out another win.
Score Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Newcastle United (Memphis, Rooney, Cisse)
Chris Cherry
The team I support up against my favourite underdog team, this is always a good game.The form United are in right now is better than I could have hoped for and not for the reasons I expected.
After games against Tottenham, Aston Villa and Club Brugge, United’s defence has been sterling! The back four of Shaw, Smalling, Blind and Darmian has only allowed 6 shots on target so far from all three games, who would’ve thought that possible after last season.
With Memphis starting to find his form too, United are heading in a really good direction.
Newcastle, however, are clearly still having issues. Mitrovic was spent to be their new star striker but so far has only played a combined 25 minutes with no end product. They’re also going into the game with their right-back Janmaat suspended from his foolish red card against Southampton last weekend.
The only player I see giving Newcastle any hope is other new signing Wijnaldum who has looked impressive since joining.
Score Prediction: Manchester United 3-0 Newcastle (Memphis, Rooney, Mata)
Arsalan Motavali
Coming fresh from their third straight win and first European victory, United will be beaming with confidence to take on Newcastle at Old Trafford.
Despite Newcastle’s new signings of Wijnaldum and Mitrovic, United’s defence has looked compact and organised only conceding a single goal, which was an unfortunate own goal from Michael Carrick.
Memphis will want to kick on from his blazing performance on Tueday night and start his Premier League account and is in luck as his national team compatriot and keystone in the Newcastle defence, Daryl Janmaat is suspended after his red card last week, which will benefit Memphis’ role.
Skipper Wayne Rooney also has a point to prove after insisting drawing blank in his last nine games. His performance against Aston Villa was notably poor as he failed to make a mark on the game, but after insisting that his “goals will come”, Rooney will certainly have a point to prove to his critics.
Despite Steve McClaren’s positive signings and decent Premier League start, United are firm favourites as they look to continue their 100% record and send a statement out to the other Premier League teams.
Score Prediction: Manchester United 4-1 Newcastle United (Rooney, Mata, Memphis x2, Wijnaldum)
Comments.
Loading comments…