Man United vs Newcastle

Manchester United responded to a thrashing by Manchester City by winning three games in a row in all competitions. Can Newcastle United halt that run?

— There was a major blow on Saturday when it emerged that Allan Saint-Maximin has suffered a setback after returning to action against Brentford and will also miss the game in Manchester. Cristiano Ronaldo starts in place of Anthony Martial, while Marcus Rashford drops to the bench and Christian Eriksen is out of the squad altogether. 100 mins to KO: This match last season saw the goalscoring homecoming of Cristiano Ronaldo, who netted twice in a 4-1 win for the Red Devils. Newcastle start with Joe Willock on the bench, as he has reportedly been unwell in the past few days. Still, having marked his substitute appearance against Everton with his 700th club goal, you wouldn't bet against Ronaldo making an impact against Newcastle — a team for which, according to some reports, he could become a transfer target... That incident came in between Diogo Dalot twice giving the ball away — it's not been a great start for the Man United right-back. Sancho drives into the box, Fernandes nudges the loose ball back to the edge of the box, but Fred slices his first-time shot wide. 15 mins: It's been a decent spell for Newcastle, but the home side do look dangerous when they break through that high press. 36 mins: Another stoppage as Joelinton is treated following another spell of players battling to keep the ball. Some good play from Fernandes as he controls a long ball from Murphy and then releases Sancho down the left. They were 4-1 winners in this fixture last season, when Cristiano Ronaldo marked his Old Trafford homecoming with a double, but that was against a very different Newcastle side.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has reported no new injury concerns and may name the same team for a third straight game. Sunday's match is expected to come too soon ...

- Miguel Almiron is vying to score in three consecutive Premier League appearances for the first time. - The Magpies have scored nine goals in their last two league fixtures, compared to just eight in their opening seven. - Newcastle are vying to score at least four goals in three consecutive league matches for the first time since October 1961. That should make things more open, which might help Manchester United. - Manchester United have won five of their past six Premier League games - as many victories as in their previous 18 fixtures. But I fancy Newcastle because they have been taking the game to their opposition, and the goals have started to flow - they have scored nine in their past two matches.

Absences were felt for both sides, as Allan Saint-Maximin, Anthony Martial, Christian Eriksen, and Alexander Isak were injured and Scott McTominay out through ...

It is a foul on Fabinho and then Alisson has a hand on the ball. And if they do drag themselves back into the title race, we will look back at this game as the catalyst for what what got Liverpool back on track. “To play a normal game against them and hope you get something for it you have to play to your limits, and further. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is on track to score 63 Premier League goals this season (the record in a 38-game campaign is 32) and he has 20 goals in 13 games in all competitions. Haaland had a couple of opportunities towards the end of the half but Liverpool were solid enough and looked a threat on the break. This was a crucial battle in the game and Van Dijk and Gomez won it for Liverpool. In the end one mistake from Cancelo cost them and a draw was a fair result, but City overcomplicated things in a big game and paid the price. He kept plugging away, tried to get on the ball and turn in dangerous areas and Maddison is playing with creativity and freedom in a team which looks set for a scrap against relegation. There is a real lack of confidence about this team and the fans have turned against the manager. Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson keep asking big question of Berhalter (Fulham 2-2 Bournemouth): This is over-simplifying, but if your center back position is unsettled before a World Cup and a possible starter on the side in question is playing every week next to your left back in a Premier League side, how do you not at least bring Tim Ream to the tournament with Antonee Robinson? Klopp will now face a period in the stands but his team has shown it has not yet been sidelined in this title race. Cristiano Ronaldo was not on his game, twice offsides on a disallowed goal and later receiving a yellow card for taking a dead ball off Nick Pope and rolling it in the goal.