Spooky Express previews Saturday's Premier League clash between Newcastle United and Manchester United, including latest team news, possible starting XIs and betting prediction. 

Newcastle United are set to face fellow top-four hopefuls Manchester United at St James' Park in the Premier League on Saturday, 2 December 2023. 

Eddie Howe's side have won their last two meetings with Manchester United, including a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup one month ago - a replay of last season's final that saw the Red Devils reign victorious at Wembley. 

First-half strikes from Miguel Almiron and Lewis Hall set Newcastle on their way, before Joe Willock’s goal on the hour mark all but sealed an impressive win for the Magpies - their first one at Old Trafford since 2013.

The Red Devils have won just one of their last four visits to St. James' Park, with Newcastle winning twice in the period, including a 2-0 victory in April.

The Magpies resume their Premier League campaign with a clash against Manchester United at St James' Park.

Eddie Howe's side had to settle for a 1-1 draw away to French champions Paris Saint-Germain following a cruel stoppage-time penalty decision. 

Alexander Isak opened the scoring for Newcastle, but Kylian Mbappe's last-gasp penalty rescued a vital point for PSG. Thus, the French side are second in Group F, two points above Newcastle, who will hope to beat AC Milan while PSG fail to win at Borussia Dortmund in the final group stage round. 

On a positive note, The Magpies have at least come through the 1-1 Champions League draw at Parc des Princes unscathed with Eddie Howe claiming no new injury issues had been registered. With so few options for change to play around with, the Newcastle manager will likely call upon all 11 of his starters from the PSG match again.

Domestically, Newcastle United claimed a 4-1 home win over Chelsea last weekend - their fifth consecutive league win at St. James' Park and the first time they conceded in that run. 

The Magpies are seventh in the Premier League, one point behind their opponents in sixth. A victory over Man United would allow them to level Tottenham Hotspur in fifth, as Spurs are set to face Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday. 

With Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes having largely locked down two of the three slots in the middle, the current selection concerns have given a platform for teenager Lewis Miley. The England U19 should keep his starting spot on Saturday night, with Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff not expected to be ready for the weekend. 

Longstaff and Willock have missed the last two games due to respective ankle and Achilles injuries. While the Newcastle boss insists they aren't 'long-term' issues, the pair won't be in contention for Saturday's clash against Manchester United.

As all of you probably know already, Sandro Tonalli will not play again this season due to a 10-month betting ban as the Italian midfielder joins the lengthy absentee list. 

However, Sven Botman is back training away from the first-team as the influential Netherlands centre-back recovers from a knee injury, while the likes of Harvey Barnes and Callum Wilson remain sidelined with foot and hamstring issues. 

Elsewhere, Matt Targett, Dan Burn, Jacob Murphy and Elliot Anderson all have injuries that will force them out until early 2024.

Yet, the squad will be boosted by the return of Emil Krafth and Matt Ritchie after they missed the Champions League trip to France due to not being in the submitted squad list.

Wilson and Willock, whose goals have secured Newcastle's 2-0 home win over Manchester United in April, are not available for selection this time, but Swedish forward Alexander Isak is set to lead the line. 

Manchester United's Champions League hopes have suffered a setback when they were held to a 3-3 draw at Galatasaray on Wednesday evening. Thus, Erik ten Hag's side remain bottom of Group A on four points, one point behind the likes of FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray, and with a coming home match against Bayern Munich in the final group game.  

Ten Hag himself accepted the blame for United's alarming capitulation at Rams Park on Wednesday as yet another calamitous Champions League collapse has left them on the cusp of elimination from the competition.

However, even if Manchester United manage to beat the Bundesliga giants at Old Trafford later this month, their fortune depends on the final score of the match between FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray - they can only go through if it ends in a draw. 

Erik ten Hag's side return to Premier League action with a challenging trip to Newcastle on Saturday. The Red Devils' 3-0 beating of Everton at Goodison Park last weekend marked their third Premier League victory in a row - with clean sheets in all of them. 

All in all, United are sixth in the table and they have won five of their last six top-flight matches. 

Like their current opponents, the Manchester United medical staff are also being forced to work overtime right now, as the likes of Jonny Evans (thigh), Lisandro Martinez (foot), Christian Eriksen (knee), Casemiro (thigh) and Amad Diallo (knee) are all injured, while Jadon Sancho is out for disciplinary reasons. 

Furthermore, left-back Tyrell Malacia underwent a second operation but Luke Shaw returned to action and the England international made an instant impact. 

Kobbie Mainoo marked his return from a four-month lay-off and the teenager was the man of the match when he produced a sensational Premier League debut at Goodison Park last weekend. The 18-year-old midfielder was only introduced as a second-half substitute at Galatasaray in midweek, so Ten Hag could once again start him alongside Scott McTominay in the middle on Saturday. 

Marcus Rashford is ready to step into the starting XI as the England forward was suspended for the midweek trip to Turkey. With Alejandro Garnacho operating on the left wing, Rashford could either start on the right or he can also lead the line against Newcastle. 

Newcastle are aiming to extend their strong home form in the Premier League. Having won five in a row at St. James' Park, including victories over Arsenal and Chelsea, Eddie Howe's side will be keen to replicate the same performance and efficiency that saw them beat Manchester United at Old Trafford last month. 

Erik ten Hag's side, on the other hand, have won their last four away games in the Premier League. United head to Newcastle bidding to win five in a row away from Old Trafford (in the Premier League) for the first time in three years, when their 10-game winning streak was ended with a 2-2 Boxing Day draw at Leicester City.

With both teams having had emotionally and physically exhausting midweek games in the Champions League, both managers won't be really content with the busy schedule over the next couple of weeks and the considerable number of injured players for either of them. 

Still, we believe that the noise coming from an electric home crowd is a powerful tool that Newcastle know how to exploit (unlike Everton) and United must brace themselves for a much different game in the North East of England. 

Remarkably, Manchester United have conceded 33 goals from their opening 20 matches across all competitions this term - their highest total at this stage since 1962-63! 

It's hard to imagine that they will produce a solid defensive performance against Newcastle right now, but they can also take advantage of their opponents' selection crisis and workload.