Manchester United face a tough test in the form of Newcastle United at the weekend – after their defeat in the 2023 League Cup final at the hands of the Red Devils, the Magpies will be out for revenge.

United are expected to be without Donny Van De Beek, Christian Eriksen, Alejandro Garnacho and Tom Heaton for the game against Newcastle. Casemiro will also miss out, as he continues to serve his red card suspension.

On top of this, Marcel Sabitzer, Anthony Martial, Raphael Varane and Marcus Rashford are all doubts. Of the three, Varane is the most likely to feature against the Toon – but Rashford, in particular, will be sorely missed if he is not fit to play as he was unfit to play for England during the international break.

The last time the two teams met in the Premier League, all the way back in October, they played out an uninspiring goalless draw. It was a dull encounter with just four shots on target between each team – let’s hope for more excitement on Sunday afternoon. Paul Merson has predicted a surprising result in the game between the two Uniteds.

United are currently third in the Premier League table. Their campaign hasn’t been perfect – it has been marred by heavy defeats against the likes of Brentford and bitter rivals Liverpool – but overall, Erik Ten Hag’s arrival at the club has sparked a massive improvement.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are fifth in the league table – the Toon are currently on the heels of their best Premier League campaign in decades. This season, the Toon are a strong outfit – but as United proved at Wembley, they’re far from unbeatable.