Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson expects Manchester United to suffer a shock defeat when they face Newcastle at St James’ Park this weekend.

The Magpies are very much involved in the battle for a top four finish and Merson believes the Magpies’ determination to secure the three points will get them over the line at St James’ Park:

“Manchester United aren’t playing well at the moment and they’re very reliant on Marcus Rashford and his goals. Someone else has got to chip in now. They’ve had some results but they aren’t ripping it up. Newcastle are playing at home and a draw isn’t good enough for them. I’m going to go with Newcastle to win this game.”

Merson is predicting a 2-1 win for the home side, which is not a scoreline that will go down well with Manchester United supporters.

Erik ten Hag’s side are certainly not playing with a great deal of fluency at the moment and the absence of Casemiro due to suspension does mean they have a softer centre.

Newcastle have also only lost once at home all season so, even if Manchester United were playing at their best, this would be a tough ground to go to.

Saying all that, though, ten Hag’s men have shown a greater resolve and character this season, and you can’t rule them out from securing a big result. We shall see how things go on Sunday evening.