Manchester United travel to Newcastle United looking to keep their stunning run under Michael Carrick going as they look to cement their position in the top three, Meanwhile their hosts will look to arrest an alarming slide that has seen them win just one of their last five league matches (and lose the other four), a run that sees them floundering at 13th, one spot behind rivals Sunderland.
Benjamin Sesko underlined his importance to this Manchester United side with the thumping winner against Crystal Palace and his recent form suggests there’s little reason to drop him back to the bench. What will make Michael Carrick’s team selection interesting ahead of the fixture, though, would be how good Amad was when he came on. The Ivorian brings a pace and directness that neither Matheus Cunha nor Bryan Mbeumo bring to the wings. With Newcastle’s aerial prowess in defence, might it be better for Carrick to go to the fluid front three that he’s preferred for most of his short reign and keep Sesko on the bench, or would it be better to allow Sesko to occupy the Newcastle centre-backs and get Amad on instead of one of Cunha or Mbeumo?
What will also play into the decision is who Carrick might feel can change the match most when brought off the bench. As he said ahead of the Palace match, it’s important to have impactful players on the bench who can “finish the match.”
Will it take the boyhood Newcastle United fan from Wallsend to break Man United’s jinx at St. James Park? For it’s been a real one -- Newcastle have won their last three home Prem matches against Wednesday’s visitors, as many as in their previous 18 combined. The only time they’ve ever had a longer home winning run against Man United was between 1915 and 1931 (10 games). In the Premier League era, Newcastle have beaten Man United only 11 times (home or away), four of those were under Eddie Howe.
While United did win the reverse fixture at Old Trafford -- one of the only instances Ruben Amorim went four-at-the-back and looked utterly untroubled by the opposition -- they’d be a bit worried about turning out at what should be a very up-for-it St James Park. Current form, though (4W 1D for United in the last five, 1W 4L for Newcastle) dictates that the visitors enter the game from a position of strength.
Emil Krafth, D: OUT, knee
Fabian Schär, D: OUT, ankle
Tino Livramento, D: OUT, hamstring
Bruno Guimarães, M: OUT, muscle
Lewis Miley, D/M: OUT, knee
Matthijs de Ligt, D: OUT, back
Mason Mount, M: DOUBT, knock
Patrick Dorgu, D/M: OUT, hamstring
Lisandro Martínez, D: DOUBT, calf
Luke Shaw, D: DOUBT, ankle