Man Utd (A) Pre-match thoughts, team news, possible line up and prediction
After four wins on the spin in league and cup, we are flying and head to Old Trafford with the wind well and truly in our sails for our final game of 2024.
The turnaround has been superb - we've scored 14 and conceded just one in since that 4-2 defeat at Brentford earlier this month - and it feels like we'll never have a better chance to beat Man Utd at Old Trafford.
We've not taken all three points at the 'Theatre of Dreams' since Yohan Cabaye scored in a 1-0 victory back in 2013, which was our only win in the red half of Manchester since the Premier League began. That needs to change.
Confidence is high again, our big guns are at it, we've finally (fingers crossed) found some consistency and Man Utd are there for the taking, losing their last two home games to Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest before losing at Wolves on Boxing Day.
A win would not only boost our Champions League hopes massively and send us 10 clear of Man Utd, but set us up perfectly for two trips to London over the next week as we prepare for Spurs on Saturday and our first semi-final leg at the Emirates a week tomorrow.
Eddie Howe’s pre-match quotes
“It's a great thing for us that we're ending the year on a high. This game is all about momentum and it's all about confidence, it's all about the players believing how good they can be.
“Hopefully, we go into the new year in a better place with the squad. Touch wood, it looks like we're building some kind of stability in it, we're not losing players as we were last season due to injury with a couple of players coming back on the horizon as well which could make us stronger, so the signs look good.”
“For me, it's confidence that gives you an edge. Confidence transforms players individually, transforms teams and I think it's taken us a couple of wins to get that back.
“When you have it, you've got to protect it and keep it at all costs and that, for me, will come down to our focus, not getting swayed, directed anywhere else other than the next game. We've got a potential couple of pitfalls in the way – the January transfer window, Carabao Cup semi-finals. It's just got to be very short focus on to the next match now.”
Team news
Kieran Trippier is a doubt after limping off in our 3-0 win over Aston Villa, but Tino Livramento could be back from the bout of illness that kept him out on Boxing Day.
Nick Pope (knee), Callum Wilson (hamstring) and Jamaal Lascelles (ACL) remain out. It remains to be seen if Sven Botman or Emil Krafth (collarbone) can return after both have resumed training.
Fabian Schar and Sandro Tonali are a yellow card away from a one-match ban, although this is the final game before the punishment moves to a two-game ban for 10 yellows.
For Man Utd, Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte are both suspended, while Luke Shaw and Mason Mount remain out through injuries.
Predicted line-up
(4-3-3): Dubravka – Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall – Bruno, Tonali, Joelinton – Murphy, Isak, Gordon.
Pretty simple really, but if Livramento is back from being unwell I'd expect this to be the only change from our Boxing Day win over Villa.
There's no reason to change what's been a winning team and fatigue may not be a huge factor given we spent 60 minutes of last week's game playing against 10 men while winning comfortably.
Match prediction
History suggests we rarely win at Old Trafford in the Premier League, but our recent form, Fernandes missing out and Ruben Amorim's realisation that he's inherited a mess on and off the pitch leaves me quietly confident we'll beat them.
Isak is on fire, Gordon is at it again on the left, Murphy has hit a purple patch on the right, our midfield balance has been a joy to watch and our back four looks solid again.
Let's hope the lads can produce once again and make it five from five to end 2024 in perfect fashion.
Prediction: Man Utd 1-2 Newcastle
Howay the lads!
