The Premier League will be returning to our screens tonight, as we gear up for another packed weekend of action in the leading league in European football – which, of course, is considered to be debatable to some. We’ve had a handful of games played by every single team now, and it’s interesting to evaluate where things currently stand. We’ve got teams performing way above expectations and we’ve got others who aren’t really living up to their potential, and then there’s a middle ground of uncertainty which often creates for some entertaining football. Which, of course, can only be considered a good thing.

One of the biggest games of the weekend comes in the form of Manchester United vs Newcastle United, which is a fixture we’ve seen play out many, many times over the years. From battles for the title to the Red Devils trying to relegate the Magpies, we’ve seen just about every incarnation of this encounter that there is to see. Still, such is the nature of this crazy game, we’re still fascinated to see what kind of dynamic there’s going to be with both teams undoubtedly finding themselves in tricky positions at this early stage of the campaign.

We’ve got two managers who are no strangers to one another in the form of Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez, with many of their battles taking place throughout a variety of different clubs. Now, though, it feels as if there’s a certain level of pressure on the shoulders of both men, but in very different ways. Jose hasn’t been able to get the kind of results that are expected of Manchester United Football Club, whereas Rafa has to deal with the looming presence of Mike Ashley which seems to always cast a big shadow over proceedings at St James’ Park.

We don’t mean that in a harsh way, except we really do, because the man has done everything in his power to drive the club into the ground. They’ve really struggled to live up to the hype created by the majority of their fans in the last twelve months, with many hoping that they were in for a positive season before the reality of the summer transfer window eventually set in. Benitez has been doing everything in his power to create some positive changes, but it still feels like there’s an impossibly long road ahead of them – starting with this game against United.

The form table isn’t particularly kind to Mourinho’s men and shines a big light on their failures in recent weeks. In their last six encounters they’ve won two, drawn two and lost two, and the amusing thing is that record would be considered a positive one for the majority of teams in the Premier League. The two wins came against Watford and Young Boys which was followed up by a draw to Wolves and a loss to Derby in the League Cup, with another defeat against West Ham United and a lacklustre draw against Valencia in the Champions League.

By comparison, Newcastle have exceeded them in regards to just how bad they’ve been, with five defeats and one draw in their last six. It’s clear for anyone to see that they’re going to find themselves locked in another relegation battle this season, and a big reason for that is the dealings (or lack of) from Mike Ashley. They lost four on the bounce to Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Arsenal, before a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace seemed to stem the flow. Alas, that didn’t wind up being the case, with Leicester City putting them to the sword last weekend.

We noted earlier on that these teams are no strangers to one another, and that rings true in the overall head to head standings. United lead with 84 wins compared to Newcastle’s 42, with a staggering 39 draws thrown in there for good measure. Their last meeting wasn’t quite as favourable for Jose, though, with Newcastle winning 1-0 back in February – which showcases to the world that it doesn’t matter how poorly you’re playing, because a big result can always be right around the corner as long as you’re able to dig deep enough.

The name on everyone’s lips right now, aside from Jose Mourinho, is Paul Pogba. The Frenchman is expected to start this game despite the many, many rumours of him falling out with the boss, and while the tension is still there, at least Pogba is still able to maintain his spot in the starting XI. Marcus Rashford has received a lot of praise in recent weeks and will be hoping that he’s given the chance to start once again, although Lingard, Young, Herrera and Rojo are all doubts to feature. Fred and Lindelof, on the other hand, could be in line for a start as Mourinho continues to try and change things up.

Newcastle will still be out Salomon Rondon who, at this stage, can likely be considered one of the biggest flops of the year in terms of Premier League transfers, and it’s hard to deny that. Florian Lejeune is also still out as the problems continue to mount for Benitez, although Federico Fernandez and Paul Dummett could both make their returns. Rafa will likely set them up to be quite defensive given they’re playing away at Old Trafford, but when you consider how low United’s confidence is, the best course of action could well be to go for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3iYrvqR0j4

Manchester United vs Newcastle Betting Prediction

A few years ago it would’ve been foolish to bet against United at home, but this time around, we wouldn’t be surprised whatsoever if you decided to do so. The structure of the club appears to be crumbling and that goes for the operations off the pitch as well as on it, with the fans not really being able to summon the energy to make for a great atmosphere at Old Trafford lately. Still, even with all that, you’d have to think that this United team will just about have enough to overcome the challenge of lowly Newcastle.

It feels like the Geordies just want to get through this tough spell with as little damage as possible, meaning there’s a good chance they won’t push the tempo as many will feel like they should. We can see this one being goalless until around the hour mark with both teams having very few chances, until Marcus Rashford pops up with another moment of brilliance to confirm why he should be playing week in and week out in Manchester. It certainly won’t be pretty, but winning ugly is what the home side need to do at this stage.

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