Manchester United's Wayne Rooney celebrates against Sunderland
Manchester United have lost just two of their last 24 Premier League matches against Newcastle and head to Tyneside looking to cement their top-four challenge.
Louis van Gaal's men sit fourth in the Premier League following a 2-0 win over 10-man Sunderland on Sunday.
Wayne Rooney scored both of those goals and has netted 12 Premier League goals against the Magpies; a joint-high against any opponent along with Aston Villa.
Newcastle boss John Carver has done a solid if unspectacular job since taking over from Alan Pardew – summed up by their gritty 1-0 victory over Aston Villa at the weekend.
Team news
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says it's normal for players like Angel Di Maria to come under scrutiny following an expensive move.
Van Gaal will assess the fitness of a number of first-team players with only Robin van Persie definitely ruled out.
The centre-forward is still missing with an ankle injury and Michael Carrick is unlikely to start despite being on the bench for the win over Sunderland last weekend.
Phil Jones, Luke Shaw and Victor Valdes sat out Saturday's win and will hope to be back in contention for the Tyneside clash.
Massadio Haidara is almost certain to miss the game after picking up a knee injury in the weekend win over Villa.
Ryan Taylor is set to mark his own return from injury by replacing Haidara while Remy Cabella (knee), Rolando Aarons (hamstring) and Robbie Elliott (thigh) are all set to resume training next week.
Opta facts
Newcastle have failed to score in three of their last four home league meetings with Man Utd, though they did win the other 3-0.
Robin van Persie is out with an ankle injury
Rooney has netted 12 Premier League goals against the Magpies; a joint-high against any opponent along with Aston Villa.
Defeat on the road last time out against Swansea City ended a run of seven unbeaten for Man Utd away from home in the Premier League (W3 D4).
Newcastle have scored the highest percentage of second half goals in the Premier League this season (69%).
Merson’s prediction
Manchester United played better the other day against Sunderland, but there’s still something big missing there. It’s another opportunity for Angel di Maria to defy the critics. His confidence is so low, and you feel for someone when you can see it so clearly.
Paul Merson thinks Angel di Maria has a chance to defy his critics.
This is the hardest league in the world and his struggles have proved it. He played in a team at Real Madrid who beat everyone, and the opposition often gave up at 2-0 or 3-0, and now he’s come over here and found it tough.
Newcastle are comfortably mid-table, and despite the win against Villa perhaps masking how the Toon fans are feeling, I think they'll get a positive point here.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1
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