Newcastle vs Manchester United – Match preview and team news

The Football Faithful

·13. April 2025

Newcastle vs Manchester United – Match preview and team news

Champions League-chasing Newcastle United welcome Manchester United to St James’ Park this Sunday.

On Monday night, the Magpies eased past a relegation-threatened Leicester City courtesy of a 3-0 away win.

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Eddie Howe has received a huge boost by the imminent return of Anthony Gordon. The former Everton winger sustained a hip issue during the recent international break with England and has missed their last four games.

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– Mittwoch, 9. April 2025

Joe Willock is reportedly dealing with a concussion, which makes him unavailable for this afternoon’s match. Sven Botman, Lewis Hall and Jamaal Lascelles are all battling to recover in time to play again this season.

Howe won’t be in the dugout this afternoon as he has been admitted to hospital following a bout of illness.

Manchester United earned a 2-2 draw away to French outfit Lyon in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.

Ruben Amorim is operating with a similar squad that he had at his disposal for their trip to France. Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw are all pushing for their first starts since returning from long-term injuries.

Matthijs de Ligt and Toby Collyer are still out alongside Lisandro Martinez and Amad. The latter is pushing for full recovery in time to feature again this season.

Newcastle vs Manchester United – Match preview and team news

Form

Newcastle: LWWWW

Newcastle are in a rich vein of form which included them winning the Carabao Cup last month.

Since that historic day at Wembley, where they ended their 70-year wait for silverware, the Magpies have reeled off successive league wins.

They edged past Brentford at home before putting three past Leicester without reply six days ago. Jacob Murphy grabbed a brace before Harvey Barnes inflicted more misery on his former club.

A win today would put Eddie Howe’s team in a strong position to qualify for the Champions League next season. The UEFA coefficient rankings have confirmed that the top five teams in the Premier League will compete in Europe’s elite competition.

Victory would see the Magpies move up to fourth, a point behind third-place Nottingham Forest, with a game in hand.

Manchester United: WWLDD

Two errors from goalkeeper Andre Onana proved costly as the Red Devils drew 2-2 at Lyon on Thursday night.

After Thiago Almada’s free-kick evaded everyone but the net, Leny Yoro netted his first goal for the club in first-half stoppage time. United thought they were taking a lead into the second leg when Joshua Zirkzee headed in with three minutes remaining.

But there was more drama in additional time as Rayan Cherki capitalised on Onana’s unconvincing save to see the game end level.

The second leg is on Thursday at Old Trafford and Ruben Amorim will be hoping his players can profit off the home advantage. But for now, they divert the attention to Premier League football where they currently reside in 13th position.

Last Meeting: Manchester United 0-2 Newcastle, Premier League, 30th December 2024

Newcastle cruised to victory in the last encounter with an accomplished 2-0 win over Manchester United.

It took just four minutes for the Magpies to break the deadlock and it came from a familiar source.

Patient build-up culminated in Bruno Guimaraes floating a diagonal pass into left-back Lewis Hall. With the help of a slight deflection, the young Englishman followed suit by placing a cross onto the head of Alexander Isak, who calmly finished the move.

The visitors were devastating in transition and Isak should have added to his tally shortly after his first. His dinked attempt was gratefully gathered by Andre Onana.

But United couldn’t keep the opposition at bay for much longer and conceded an almost identical goal. Anthony Gordon was the man to deliver into the box this time and Joelinton covered several yards to latch onto the cross. With just 20 minutes gone at Old Trafford, it appeared set to be a long evening for the hosts.

Newcastle were cutting through the defence at will and Sandro Tonali came inches away from netting a third. The Italian midfielder could only poke an effort at the upright, much to the relief of the home faithful.

Ruben Amorim’s players did have chances to halve the deficit but were extremely wasteful. Rasmus Hojlund’s shot rolled wide before Casemiro placed an effort the wrong side of the post.

Newcastle’s held firm to record their fourth successive clean sheet. For United, it signalled the end of a poor first half of the campaign.

Predicted Lineups

Newcastle: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Barnes.

Manchester United: Onana; Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Yoro, Shaw; Mainoo, Ugarte; Mount, Fernandes, Zirkzee.

Who is the referee?

Chris Kavanagh will be the match official. Lee Betts and Dan Cook will assist him while Sam Barrott will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Peter Bankes and he will be assisted by Tim Wood.