Newcastle v Man Utd preview: Champions League race heats up

However, boss Eddie Howe wasted no time in jetting his players off for some warm weather training in Dubai, where he has been “really pleased with what they’ve produced”.

Newcastle remain well in the hunt for a Champions League place as they sit just three points behind third-placed Manchester United ahead of the weekend, having played the same amount of games.

They have a score to settle against the Red Devils, too, after losing the EFL Cup final to them in February.

The familiar surroundings of St James’ Park could be the catalyst for a H2H resurgence as the Magpies have lost just one PL game here all season (W7, D5, L1).

Erik ten Hag’s United signed off for the international break in style by cruising into the FA Cup semi-final with a 3-1 win over an ill-disciplined Fulham side, though their focus for now must shift back to the race for the top four.

Shooting drills may have been a big focus during the interim as United had failed to score in back-to-back PL games as well as in the reverse H2H (0-0).

Another PL blank seems unthinkable for the visitors, who haven’t failed to score in three straight PL games since 2020, or in consecutive PL H2Hs since 1997.

Rediscovering their scoring form will be crucial to any United success, as only relegation-threatened Leicester, Nottingham and Bournemouth have conceded more away league goals ahead of this round than United’s 27.

Players to watch: Newcastle’s Callum Wilson missed out on England selection but their seven-goal man said that his week training out in Dubai has made “a big difference”.

Manchester United’s difference maker could well be Marcus Rashford; he also missed out on England selection whilst recovering from injury, but has scored more PL match-winning goals than any other player (nine).

Hot stat: Newcastle have kept a joint PL-high seven home clean sheets ahead of the match (54%).