Man United have been hit with a COVID outbreak which has led to a few of their games being postponed earlier this month. It was reported that as many as 20 cases were reported from the club but on Wednesday, most of the first-team players have returned to training so we can safely assume that this match won’t be cancelled.
United are currently sixth on the Premier League table but have played only 16 games this season while the top-four sides have all played 18. This means if United can will their games in hand then they will once again be in a good spot to fight for the Champions League places.
Manchester United are undefeated in 32 of their last 34 away matches but in the previous three matches, they have conceded 11 goals which is definitely going to be a cause of concern. Ever since Rangnick has taken charge, things have improved slightly but they will need to come up with another authoritative performance to prove that they are keeping faith in their interim boss.
Newcastle have failed to win 17 of their last 18 matches in the Premier League and despite a change in ownership and manager, things haven’t gotten back on track for them. They have won just one out of their previous five league outings and since Man United have a fully fit squad we don’t see the Magpies picking up anything from this game either.
Man United team news vs Newcastle United:
De Gea has firmly held onto the No 1 spot and should be starting in goal with Lindelof and Maguire pairing up in central defence. As per the latest reports, Raphael Varane has reported back to training and will be available for Monday’s game but it remains to be seen if he starts or not.
Dalot has been the preferred right-back for Ralf Rangnick so he will once again be going to start ahead of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Fred and McTominay will pair up in defensive midfield with Bruno Fernandes playing in a more advanced role. Donny van de Beek did report to training on Wednesday but he was sent home just 10 minutes later.
If still unclear as to what the situation is with Donny but even if he is fit, we don’t think the Man United boss will be inclined to use him.
Jadon Sancho was not seen in training on Wednesday but Ralf Rangnick has made it clear that he has an almost fully-fit squad to choose from with Pogba being the only absentee.
📝 — Jadon Sancho and Juan Mata weren't pictured but its understood that they were at Carrington. Van de Beek left after 10 minutes. Rashford, Varane and McTominay were the players to report second day in a row #mufc #mujournal
[@TyMarshall_MEN] https://t.co/2ZLkMJQVvy
— United Journal (@theutdjournal) December 22, 2021
Rangnick said in his press conference: “Yes, as you know, we had last week, the last training session on Thursday, on that day we had eight outfield players and three goalkeepers and then we closed down the training ground for four days in order to break the chain,” Ralf told reporters at his pre-match press conference.
“Today was the third day of training this week, we started on Tuesday, we trained yesterday and today.
“Today we had 25 outfield players. Paul Pogba is the only one missing, everyone else was on board. The development in the last week was extremely positive.”
Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani are also back to full fitness after a prolonged break but Rashford and Ronaldo are once again going to pair up in the final third.
At best Cavani or Mason Greenwood is going to come on as a second-half sub but we don’t think Martial has any chance at redeeming his Man United career.
It’s really hard to predict which player is in what shape after this massive COVID outbreak so Ralf Rangnick could throw in some surprise inclusions as well – without informing the press beforehand.
Man United predicted line up vs Newcastle United:
Predicted Starting XI: De Gea; Lindelof/Varane, Maguire, Telles, Diogo Dalot; Fred, McTominay; Sancho/Van de Beek, Fernandes; Rashford, Ronaldo.
