Newcastle United will be looking to climb out of the Premier League relegation zone tonight when they welcome Manchester United to St James’ Park.
The Magpies, who have failed to find the back of the net in over half of their games this season, will come up against the Premier League’s meanest defence, with United conceding an astonishing eight goals in their opening 20 matches.
Newcastle head coach Steve McClaren has publicly bemoaned his side’s lack of cutting edge after they suffered four consecutive 1-0 defeats to slip to 18th place and crash out at the third round stage of the Emirates FA Cup.
However, with new signings Henri Saivet and Jonjo Shelvey coming in to bolster the Newcastle ranks- and more to presumably follow – McClaren will hope that the extra competition for places can inspire his floundering side to start firing on all cylinders.
The Red Devils have recorded two unconvincing back-to-back victories after a run of eight games without a win, however, the mounting pressure on Louis Van Gaal’s shoulders has failed to abate, and anything other than a win tonight is likely to have United fans’ calling for the beleaguered Dutchman’s head.
The Magpies have reserved their best displays of the season for tests against the big boys, and the Toon Army will hope that the black-and-white’s can spring another upset this evening.
Ahead of the tie, we decided to construct a combined XI of players from Newcastle and Manchester United.
The formation is 4-2-3-1.