Manchester United at Newcastle - Match Preview

Manchester United:

Injuries: Robin van Persie will miss the match with the same ankle injury that kept him out of the Sunderland game. Michael Carrick could possibly make his return as a sub after a muscle rupture injury that has kept him out for over a month now. Phil Jones was ill for the last match, but I’m assuming he’ll be ready to face Newcastle on Wednesday. Lastly, Luke Shaw was kept out of the last game apparently due to tiredness. Hopefully the time off will see him return to full fitness.

Last 5 matches: W-D-W-L-W

Likely formation: 4-2-3-1

Storyline:

United enter the matchup coming off a relatively unconvincing win against Sunderland. Yes, we were able to win 2-0, but only after winning a penalty and Sunderland going down a man for about a third of the game. United continued this season’s trend of dominating possession without creating all that many chances on target, something they’ll look to correct against Newcastle.

I imagine the defense will be reshuffled again, with Shaw coming back into the side at left back and Rojo moving over to left central, thereby knocking Evans back to the watching from the stands. Smalling and Valencia will probably stay in the right side of the defense as both played rather well against Sunderland, particularly Smalling in his ability to bring the ball down to feet and pass it up the field. Granted, United were rarely tested against the Sunderland attack with most of their chances coming off of United’s own players’ mistakes.

In the midfield, the formation will be much the same. Against Sunderland, Louis van Gaal elected to go with Herrera and Blind in the central holding positions; expect van Gaal to keep with Blind and Herrera as they were able to dominate possession for the most part last game. Carrick could come in at some point and see some playing time in the holding mid role, however. Di Maria played poorly in the first half before being subbed of for Januzaj, so it will be interesting to see if van Gaal gives di Maria another chance or gives him a seat on the bench. As much as I want Januzaj to start, I expect to see di Maria out there once again. On the other side, Ashley Young will undoubtedly start at left mid, based on his tremendous form heading into the match. Assuming van Gaal goes with only one attacking midfielder, it will probably be Rooney, despite the poor form he showed in the first half last week. In the second half, he converted the penalty and rebound header to secure a win, so there’s really no doubt Rooney will start.

At striker, I expect to see Falcao again. Similarly to Rooney last game, Falcao had a poor first half before eventually winning the penalty that gave United the go ahead goal and a man advantage. Even so, he was immediately subbed off in favor of Fellaini, so I wonder if van Gaal’s patience is wearing thing with Falcao.

This is another crucial game for United, as every game will be throughout the remainder of the season. After securing the three points against Sunderland on Saturday, United remained in fourth in the table, one point behind Arsenal and two points ahead of Liverpool. Arsenal and Liverpool face QPR and Burnley, respectively, on Wednesday; it would be a surprise for either of them to drop points against lower table teams. As such, United will have to come up with the three points if they want to maintain their current position in the top four. I don’t care if it’s through brilliant play or a last gasp, scrappy goal that gives United the points, as long as they get the points.

           

Newcastle:

Injuries: Siem de Jong will miss the game after getting surgery for a collapsed lung. Massadio Haidara will attempt to play after being stretchered off in the win against Aston Villa on Saturday. Remy Cabella, Steven Taylor, Cheick Tiote, Paul Dummett, and Robert Elliot round out a substantial injury list for Newcastle.

Last 5 matches: W-D-D-L-W

Likely formation: 4-2-3-1

Storyline:

Newcastle rebounded after a 5-0 defeat to the hands of our Manchester rivals by beating Aston Villa 1-0 on Saturday through a Papiss Cisse goal in the first half. Cisse has been playing well, having scored his 11^th goal of the season in 18 appearances by finishing a Janmaat cross close to the end of the first half. Cisse will likely prove difficult to handle for the United defenders,

The result gave Newcastle their second win in nine games under interim manager John Carver. Newcastle now sit just inside the bottom half of the table in 11^th, four points behind Stoke and five points clear of Crystal Palace. The club will likely finish mid-table this season with no real fear of relegation, so the remainder of the season will be focused on finishing as high in the table as possible.

Prediction: United will need to focus their defensive efforts on Cisse as well as Newcastle’s creative midfielders Cabella, Sissoko, and Tiote. If United can handle them, they should get the job done.

United 1 – 0 Newcastle  

Here's a highlight video (from Sports Channel) from our last match up with Newcastle: