Manchester United face three Premier League fixtures between 27 December and 3 January as part of the traditional frantic festive period.
United travel to Newcastle, before hosting Burnley and then Wolves. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won all three of the corresponding fixtures last season.
Three matches within eight days is not an easy ask, even accounting for modern fitness methods, as the Ralf Rangnick era at Old Trafford gathers pace.
How many points will United get from a possible nine? We’ve taken a look…
Newcastle (A) – Win
Newcastle are improving under Eddie Howe and this game is part of a really tricky run of games for them.
That said, the fact that Howe likes his teams to have a go may leave space for United to exploit.
The September meeting between the two sides ended 4-1 at Old Trafford, with Cristiano Ronaldo netting twice on his second United debut.
It will be important to get the festive calendar off to a winning start and United should be rested going into this game on the back of nine days off.
Burnley (H) – Win
This game comes with three days turnaround time on 30 December.
Burnley, like Newcastle, are battling it out down at the bottom of the table, but they always provide tough, physical opposition.
Rangnick will demand his side match Sean Dyche’s men for intensity and energy, which should provide the foundation for United’s quality to shine through.
Burnley have stung United at Old Trafford before but while they will be looking to exploit any tiredness after the Newcastle game, United should get the job done.
Wolves (H) – Draw
The games between Wolves and United since they returned to the Premier League are always tight.
United were fortunate to escape August’s Molineux meeting with a win, thanks to heroics from David de Gea and Mason Greenwood.
Bruno Lage has got his side defending very well, although their lack of threat at the other end means United should be looking to keep a clean sheet in this one.
Perhaps this is an unnecessarily pessimistic prediction – nine points from nine is more than doable – but there is a chance this one ends 0-0.
- Five prime examples of when Man Utd found value in the market since Premier League inception
- Kai Rooney and Jacey Carrick among eight Man Utd wonderkids on 2026 scholarship list
- How Man Utd could start pre-season as Ineos set to fail Michael Carrick in transfer window
- Argentine press react to 9/10 Lisandro Martinez performance vs Cape Verde, ‘Unforgettable…’
- How Lisandro Martinez fared in Argentina’s 3-2 win over Cape Verde
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
