Newcastle United vs Manchester United

St James’ Park sets the stage for a mouth-watering Premier League encounter between Newcastle United and Manchester United.

Despite lacking a dozen first-team stars, Newcastle United were minutes away from pulling off a group-stage double over Paris Saint-Germian in midweek Champions League action before Kylian Mbappe’s controversial 97th-minute penalty derailed their hopes of progression. A stomach-wrenching 1-1 draw in Paris left Newcastle’s knockout aspirations in tatters, so the impending return to the Champions League could be a welcoming distraction. Eddie Howe’s side thrashed Chelsea 4-1 at home last weekend, making it seven wins in eight competitive home games since the start of September (L1) and staying within a four-point distance of fourth-placed Aston Villa. United’s visit to Tyneside brings back fond memories in the ‘Magpies’ camp as they thumped the ‘Red Devils’ 3-0 in the League Cup earlier this season, registering a second consecutive H2H win ‘to nil.’

Amends must be made as Manchester United’s bid to reach the Champions League knockouts took a massive hit. Galatasaray hauled back a two-goal deficit to draw 3-3 on home turf, leaving Erik ten Hag’s side stranded at the bottom of Group A with minimal chances of landing a spot in the round of 16. However, the ‘Red Devils’ have gone from strength to strength in the Premier League, winning five of their last six league outings (L1), including an impressive 3-0 triumph at Everton in the previous round. That result also marked United’s fourth successive Premier League win on hostile turf, a feat they last achieved in the winter of 2020. Man Utd could still jiggle their fans’ nerves, given three of those four victories yielded a one-goal margin.