2024 draws to a close for Manchester United on Monday night against Newcastle United at Old Trafford.
The festive period was a disaster for Manchester United, with Ruben Amorim losing four of the last five Premier League fixtures.
Amorim has lost three games in a row, something he had never endured before in his managerial career.
The most recent of these losses, a 2-0 defeat to Wolves, was the most concerning as United looked terrible.
Now, United will be hoping to avoid breaking a 62-year record by not being beaten for the fifth time in a month against Newcastle.
But avoiding defeat is a lot easier said than done, with Newcastle in form and Amorim’s options looking slim.
How will Manchester United line-up against Newcastle?
Things have been nowhere near as bad as recent form suggests, with Amorim likely confident that eventually he will get his rewards.
Against Newcastle though, United will be without Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte through suspension.
Additionally, the status of Kobbie Mainoo remains up in the air. He is a doubt after being seen limping after the Wolves’ loss. Meanwhile, both Mason Mount and Luke Shaw will be out injured, along with Marcus Rashford who seems set to depart.
So with these absences in mind, here is our predicted line-up…
It has been a nightmare few weeks for Onana which has sparked United’s interest in multiple new goalkeepers, but he will hope to return to his form of a few months ago vs Newcastle.
Starting on the right of the back three, we expect will be Yoro who has been quietly impressive in recent weeks despite the defensive woes.
In the middle of the back three, Maguire has been a regular fixture in recent weeks with Amorim a huge fan. Maguire could very well wear the captain’s armband.
On the left, once again Martinez should start with a lack of alternatives presently for United in terms of a left-footed centre-back. Hopefully, he will be better than we’ve seen in recent weeks.
With goals being hard to come by, we predict Amorim will go more offensive with his wing-back selections and Antony therefore could start at right wing-back. A huge opportunity for the Brazilian.
Another Brazilian with a big chance to impress is Casemiro, who will certainly start with Ugarte suspended. Amorim needs him on top form.
With Bruno out and also potentially Mainoo not fit, partnering Casemiro will be either Christian Eriksen or Collyer. Amorim really should go with Collyer in this case, as playing Eriksen against this dynamic Newcastle midfield is a terrible plan.
£19m star Diogo Dalot has to be dropped amid his appalling form. So we expect to see Mazraoui on the left, allowing the more offensive Antony to play on the right.
Amad is still an automatic starter, but we need him to get back to some form on Monday after his poor decision-making cost United on Boxing Day. The Ivorian magician remains United’s most dangerous player.
With Bruno out, Garnacho has a golden opportunity to stake his claim and endear himself to Amorim. Garnacho has struggled under the Portuguese coach to date, but there have been signs he can shine.
Finally, starting up top, Hojlund is the clear first choice and with this game being so important, we think Amorim goes all out and trusts the Dane to get him the goals he needs.
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