Man Utd v Newcastle predictions: Magpies can rain on Ronaldo's parade

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Manchester United v Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday

When to bet

Kick-off 3pm Saturday

Best bet

Newcastle to score first
1pt 15-4 bet365, BoyleSports

Team news

Man Utd
Phil Jones, Marcus Rashford, Amad Diallo, Alex Telles and Scott McTominay are unavailable.

Newcastle
Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser are both out while Martin Dubravka has not featured this season.

Match preview

Returning hero Cristiano Ronaldo is odds-on to kick off his second spell at Old Trafford with a goal against Newcastle, but the match might not be the foregone conclusion that the markets anticipate.

Newcastle have a habit of making fast starts in fixtures against the Red Devils and have opened the scoring in six of the last eight.

With the pre-match spotlight on Ronaldo, it could be a little easier for the Magpies to focus on the football and their pacy attack – spearheaded by livewire Frenchman Allan Saint-Maximin – could do some early damage.

The Red Devils may not need to strike the first blow because they have shown themselves to be experts at recovering from poor starts.

Ten of United's 21 league wins last season were achieved after conceding the opening goal and their awesome attack – substantially reinforced by Ronaldo – should make an impression over the course of the game.

Key stat

Newcastle have opened the scoring in six of their last eight meetings with Manchester United

Inside info

Man Utd

Penalty taker Bruno Fernandes/Cristiano Ronaldo
Free-kick wizard Bruno Fernandes/Cristiano Ronaldo
Aerial set piece threat Harry Maguire
Card magnet Harry Maguire

Newcastle

Penalty taker Matt Ritchie
Free-kick wizard Matt Ritchie
Aerial set piece threat Jamal Lascelles
Card magnet Sean Longstaff

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