Manchester United travel to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle United on Wednesday night as Louis Van Gaal’s side have a battle on their hands for Champions League qualification. The Red Devils were far from convincing in the weekend as they beat Sunderland by 2-0 at Old Trafford.
United are currently fourth in the standings with 50 points, one behind Arsenal in third and two ahead of Liverpool who are in sixth. Ahead of the trip to Tyneside, Van Gaal has confirmed that he will be without the injured Robin Van Persie while its’ too early for Michael Carrick to return to the starting line up.
Newcastle, who are still without a head coach with John Carver in charge are eleventh in the standings and come to the game after beating Aston Villa at home in the weekend. The Magpies would thus fancy their chances against a shaky United lineup which can wilt under pressure.
United could finally lineup in a 4-4-2 diamond setup with Wayne Rooney supporting Radamel Falcao up front. Angel Di Maria could be dropped after Van Gaal admitted that Argentine is struggling to adapt to the Premier League and Adnan Januzaj could start. Ashley Young was easily the best United player against Sunderland and the winger should start on the left wing with Ander Herrera and Daley Blind in the middle of the park.
David De Gea will man the United goal while Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia slot in the wing backs role. marcos Rojo should partner Chris Smalling in the heart of the back four.
Predictions: It will be a tough encounter for United but I believe they can sneak a narrow yet an important 2-1 away win
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