Man Utd vs Newcastle. Premier League Matchday 19 Preview

Man Utd’s five-game Premier League winning run came to an end at the Liberty Stadium where they were held to 1-1 draw by Swansea City. The Red Devils were the better side and could count themselves highly unlucky to only draw the game. However despite the result at the moment they stay at the top of the table four points clear of their closest rivals Man City.

With all due respect to Newcastle one can hardly name the clash between the Red Devils and the Magpies as the key fixture to watch on Matchday 19. The narrow 1-0 Newcastle victory over the struggling QPR proves that the Magpies are not by far that resilient team they were in the previous season. Currently injury-plagued Newcastle are just five points above the relegation zone. Taking into account that Newcastle have not won away at the Old Trafford since February, 1972 Alan Pardew should think twice over the starting lineup. However this would be a difficult task, as Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Steven and Rayan Taylor are sidelined due to the injuries, while Cheick Tioté is set to miss the clash against Man Utd due to a one-match suspension after collecting his 5th yellow card in the match against QPR. Alan Pardew has revealed he will try and fix his squad problems by adding several quality players during the January transfer window.

The Boxing Day is historically the most favorable period for the Red Devils, as they have recorded 17 wins and suffered only one defeat of their last 20 Boxing Day games.

Man Utd coach Sir Alex Ferguson is set to make some changes to his squad after they failed to beat Swansea City. Probably Fergie includes Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck and Darren Fletcher into his first-team again.

Probable line-ups:

Man Utd: De Gea, Evra, Ferdinand, Evans, Smalling; Giggs, Scholes, Carrick, Valencia; Van Persie, Welbeck

Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Coloccini, Williamson, Santon; Anita, Obertan, Perch, Gutierrez; Ba, Ameobi

Footballtop.com prediction: Man Utd 3-1 Newcastle