Newcastle vs Man Utd LIVE: Team news and Premier League updates from St James’ Park (Image: Getty)
Man Utd 0-0 Newcastle – LIVE
- Newcastle could escape relegation zone with a win
- Man Utd could rise to 7th with victory
- Newcastle: Dubravka; Yedlin, Schar, Lascelles, Clark, Willems; Longstaff, Longstaff, Saint-Maximin; Joelinton, Almiron
- Man Utd: De Gea; Dalot, Tuanzebe, Maguire, Young; Fred, McTominay; Andreas, Mata, James; Rashford
06: United have their first passages of possession but are not moving the ball with much zip. Newcastle look tough to break down.
03: Fred clips Almiron’s heel to gift Newcastle a free-kick which defenders go up for. Yellow for the Brazilian early doors. The free-kick is wasted by Schar.
01: We are underway at St James’ Park! Early in-roads from Newcastle as Saint-Maximin gallops forward through the United midfield and slips the ball wide. They earn a corner but nothing comes from it.
KICK-OFF
Newcastle vs Man Utd LIVE: The away side go through their paces before the match (Image: Getty)
4.25pm: Both teams are lined up in the tunnel with a raucous atmosphere in Tyneside – let’s hope the football doesn’t suck that expectancy out of the stands. Kick-off imminent.
4.20pm: Steve Bruce has included Matthew Longstaff for his Premier League debut in the middle of the park and explained his thinking behind the decision before the match.
“Matthew has been knocking on the door for a long time, since the first time I saw him in China,” the Toon boss said.
“He’s caught my eye with his energy and the way he plays. It’s a big game and a big occasion for him but I’m sure he’ll do great.
“We needed to change something so we needed to play people who haven’t had much of a chance just yet, such as Ciaran Clark, who trains like every day is his last so he needs an opportunity. One or two changes are needed and hopefully we’ll get the response we need.”
Newcastle vs Man Utd LIVE: The stage is set at St James’ Park (Image: Getty)
4.10pm: Update regarding the United team – Lindelof is injured, hence his absence from the squad. Solskjaer was fearful of the plastic pitch on which they played against AZ Alkmaar and it ostensibly caused the centre-back an injury.
“It was the pitch [with Lindelof], and it was his back that completely locked in the last couple of minutes and he couldn’t walk,” Solskjaer said just now.
“We hoped he would recover and he travelled with us but he couldn’t play. He’ll need a little week off, I think.
“Jesse and Victor got injuries on Thursday night so that’s just part and parcel of this game. Axel has come in at centre back and Diogo has been waiting to play for a while now so we’ll see some more young lads.”
Newcastle vs Man Utd LIVE: Victor Lindelof misses the match through injury (Image: Getty)
4.05pm: There has been a lot of bad statistical reading for both sets of fans this season. And guess what? Here’s more! Send your thanks to those at Opta for collating…
- Newcastle have won three of their last 31 Premier League games against Manchester United (W3 D7 L21), losing both matches during the 2018-19 campaign
- Only against Arsenal (29) have Newcastle lost more Premier League games than they have against Manchester United (28)
- Manchester United are winless in their last seven away league games (D3 L4) – they last had a longer run without a win on the road in the top-flight between February and September 1989 (11 games)
- Newcastle manager Steve Bruce has managed more Premier League games against Man Utd without winning (21 – W0 D5 L16) than any manager has against an opponent in the competition’s history
Newcastle vs Man Utd LIVE: Steve Bruce is looking to claim his first league win over Man Utd (Image: Getty)
3.55pm: Steve Bruce spoke highly of his former club amid their bad spell, and is relishing the prime 4.30pm slot.
“They might not be the Man United of the past but they’ve still got some very good players,” Bruce said.
“We are going to have to be at our best and a lot better than we were last week. I am hoping we show a response to the supporters because we let everyone down last week.
“It is a wonderful time to play them because it will be a full house, live on the TV. If ever we needed to bounce back against anybody, what better way than against them.”
3.50pm: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes it is vital his side win at St James’ Park to restore the good feeling around Carrington.
“For us to get a result [at Newcastle] is vital now. I think it will change the mood,” Solskjaer told Sky Sports.
“The fans are great I have to say. It’s easy to be positive when I see them, they have been very positive with me. They see what you are doing and they keep going.
“We want to pay them back for their loyalty and support by getting better results and better performances. I can assure them we are working hard to do so.”
Newcastle vs Man Utd LIVE: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to repay the fans (Image: Getty)
3.40pm: So it’s three changes for United from their 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Monday, with Lindelof, Pogba and Lingard making way for Dalot, Fred and Mata.
Intriguingly Solskjaer has left Lindelof out of the squad, perhaps unimpressed by the Swede’s performances so far this campaign alongside Maguire. Pogba and Lingard’s absences were expected and it seems Wan-Bissaka has still not recovered from tonsillitis.
As for Newcastle, Steve Bruce makes five changes from the side that lost 5-0 to Leicester last weekend. He has reverted to a 5-3-2 formation this week which sees an extra centre-half start in Clark, with Willems and Yedlin also coming back into the side.
The younger Longstaff, Matty, makes his Premier League debut alongside his brother, and Saint-Maximin makes his first start.
3.30pm: The line-ups are in…
Man Utd: De Gea; Dalot, Tuanzebe, Maguire, Young; Fred, McTominay; Andreas, Mata, James; Rashford.
Subs: Romero, Rojo, Williams, Matic, Gomes, Chong, Greenwood.
Newcastle: Dubravka; Yedlin, Schar, Lascelles, Clark, Willems; Longstaff, Longstaff, Saint-Maximin; Joelinton, Almiron.
Subs: Darlow, Krafth, Dummett, Shelvey, Atsu, Gayle, Carroll.
Newcastle vs Man Utd LIVE: The Red Devils are in the building (Image: Getty)
3.25pm: Ladies and gentlemen, we will bring you team news shortly, as kick-off approaches.
In the meantime, here is what United stalwart Scott McTominay had to say before the meeting. He has become one of Solskjaer’s most trusted players this season – and echoes his manager’s upbeat nature amid the storm.
“Other than the West Ham game, it’s been [a case of] very, very fine margins,” he told United’s in-house media team. “In a lot of the games we’ve played, I think we’ve been 1-0 up at half-time.
“For us it’s time to really nail down why we’re conceding after half-time and structurally we have to do more as a group and communicate more on the pitch and things like that. We have to reflect on all our performances and going into the international break it’s important we pick up a big three points away from home.”
Newcastle vs Man Utd LIVE: Magpies captain Jamal Lascelles will marshal his defence this afternoon (Image: Getty)
WELCOME, HA’WAY…
To live coverage of the bottom-half Premier League clash between Newcastle and Manchester United – we haven’t said that often in the past.
Both sides head into the game in desperate need of a win after dismal starts to the campaign, with three wins and 13 goals between them in 14 games.
While Steve Bruce publicly admitted he can’t play in the attacking manner he wishes with his squad, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seems like a man in denial as he smiles his way through early-season criticism.
We cannot promise entertainment on the field but, whatever the result, the fallout will be captivating.
